Allie shifted the weight of her heavy bag slightly as she walked to the bus stop, her mind going over the work she had to get done tonight and wondering if her dad would be home tonight. Every so often her dad would text to tell her he would be working late and that usually meant he was in danger. One night he hadn't come home and she had waited up until 1 am when her mother had finally come to tell her he had a concussion and was in the hospital. The next time she was with her mother when they got a call to say he'd been shot in the leg, he was in hospital for a week. He wouldn't talk to her about it beyond brief statements of the danger and she had nightmares sometimes about waiting for hours to get a call saying he'd been killed.

“Allie!” A shout drew her attention and she stopped and turned to see a girl with long blonde hair hurrying to catch up with her. 

“Hey Sarah.” Allie smiled in greeting and noted the nervousness not quite hidden by the answering smile on her friend's face. They walked in silence for a few minutes, Sarah seeming like she was about to speak several times before changing her mind. Allie stayed quiet, figuring her friend just needed time.

“I.. er.. do... um... never mind.” Sarah stuttered then went quiet, looking at her feet and blushing.

Allie glanced her then looked away, not wanting to embarrass her more. After a moments thought she asked quietly, “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah!” Sarah exclaimed quickly. “I'm fine.”

Allie thought about pushing it, but she suddenly had a really uncomfortable feeling about the whole situation and decided to let it go. They got on the bus and the rest of the journey passed in slightly uncomfortable silence.

At home she reluctantly settled down to work on a maths assignment. She couldn't quite focus though, the uncomfortable feeling from earlier refusing to go away and she found herself checking her phone for a text from her father that she knew wouldn't come for another hour at least.