Dad sighs heavily and tips her chin so he can look at her. “No more tears.”
She nods, but a tear slides down her cheek. He brushes it away and says, “I told you to stay at home. You never listen to me.”
She shoots him a mean look. “Our son was in jail. There was no way I was going to stay at home. I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”
Dad purses his lips displeased, before giving her a nod. “When we get home, you’ll rest as you promised me.”
She gives him a quick nod, then turns to me. Her eyes run all over me before she smiles a little.
“You’ve grown up and you look well,” she says.
“I’ve been eating healthy and working out.” I tell her instead of being mad at her. Something is wrong with her and until I get to the bottom of it, I can keep my attitude in check, I suppose.
Despite not wanting to do anything with her, my eyes assess her and I end up saying. “Are you sick?”
A frown embeds between her eyebrows and she shakes her head. “No! No, hon. I’m perfectly fine.” She smiles. It’s fake.
“Don’t fucking lie to me.”
Dad sends me a cold stare. “Watch it.”
With a sigh, I grumble, “You look really weak.”
Waving her hand in the air she brushes me off. “I missed a meal. It’s nothing serious.”
From the looks of it, a hundreds of them. “It looks fucking serious.”
Dad glares at me again.
So I face him and point my finger at her. “Tell me, what’s wrong with her?”
Before he can answer, Mom puts her hand on his arm. They both share a look that speaks thousands of words that I can’t hear, but they understand each other perfectly.
A minute later he turns to me. “She’s fine.”
My stomach tightens into a series of knots that wrap around my gut in worry.
I know it. Something is wrong. I just can’t put my finger on it.
It happened with Emery.
It happened with Hope.
Now it’s happening to my mother.
Hope? Fuck. I need to contact her.
In a haste I take out my phone and switch it on.
There’s one message from her that makes my heart drop into my stomach.
Hope:I’m fine. I’ll see you at school.
My fingers tightenaround my phone and I’m seconds away from cracking it.
I’m fine?She’s never fine. That’s the problem.
See you at school?It’s Saturday today. How am I supposed to survive two days without making sure she’s okay?
