At 2 am, I knew what I had to do.
The next morning, I acted as if everything was normal. “Have a great day at school,” I said as I walked out the door at 7:30.
—You too, Mom—she said softly.
Fifteen minutes later, I got in my car, drove down the street, parked behind a hedge, and walked home in silence. My heart pounded with every step. I slipped inside, locked the door, and went straight to Lily’s room.
Her room was spotless. The bed was perfectly made. The desk was tidy.
If she was coming home secretly, she wouldn’t expect me to be here.
So I got down on the rug and crawled under the bed.
It was cramped, dusty, and too dark to see anything but the bottom of the mattress. My breathing was heavy in the small space. I silenced my phone and waited.
9:00 am Nothing. 9:20 am. Still nothing. My legs were numb. Had I imagined it all?
So…
