Eddie starts to visit daily and soon moves back. One day, while Delia is grocery shopping, Marci and Corin wake Eddie from a nap to tell him that they are disowning him. When Marci calls him by his first name, Eddie slaps her. “I’d been hit by him before and I wasn’t backing down” (115). Marci’s determination is tested when Eddie forgoes his belt and attacks her with his hands, elbow, and feet. This knocks her down, and Eddie goes after Corin, slamming her head into the wall. She kicks Eddie in the testicles, allowing the girls to escape.

They flee to Tommy’s house; Tommy realizes that Eddie “hit you so he wouldn’t leave any marks” (117). Tommy lets Marci and Corin stay until Delia calls. She picks them up and takes them home, despite their protests.

Marci and Corin tell Delia how severe Eddie’s attack was, but she refuses to believe him. She wants them to apologize for hurting Eddie, but he is gone when they get home.

The girls care for themselves after school, cooking and doing homework until their parents get home every day. They don’t speak to Delia or Eddie, only answering questions with one-word responses. Both girls are still in pain following the attack; Marci has blood in her urine for several days.