Zoey rushed over. "Noreen, sweetie, just tell us what style you like. Dale can take you shopping for a new one."
"Exactly," Mrs. Fleming chimed in. "Whatever catches your eye, Dale will get it for you."
My necklace lay in pieces on the ground, and all they cared about was what Noreen wanted next.
Six years of devotion, and every bit of it had been wasted. I crouched down, carefully gathering the broken fragments, when a heel came down on my hand.
Noreen stared down at me. "What I throw away isn't something a worthless tramp like you gets to touch."
Dale kicked the shattered pieces aside. "Get out. Stop embarrassing yourself."
My chest seized. I couldn't help thinking back to the moment I first fell for him.
A group of punks had cornered me on the street, catcalling, running their mouths, trying to put their hands on me.
Dale happened to walk by. He took on all six of them alone and ended up in the hospital.
Sitting at his bedside, I heard him say: "Anyone who disrespects you, I'll fight them with everything I've got."
Now Noreen was grinding me into the floor, and he told me to get out.