“Ha. Right.” Looking up at her, I ask, “Can you call my phone. Maybe it fell underneath something.”
After several failed attempts to find my phone, I sigh and ask Carley, “Is my dad’s number on your phone?”
“Of course.”
Back in my room, I pick up Carley’s cell and search for his number. Pressing on his name, I wait. It rings only once when he answers, sounding groggy. “Is Emma okay?”
I’d love to laugh because that’s pretty much what Mom said. “Hey Daddy. It’s me, Emma.”
“Oh, phew, peanut.” He chuckles. “What’s up?”
I may as well just get right to it. “What was Amber selling?”
There’s a long pause. I hear rustling like he’s moving around. “Hang on,” he whispers into the phone.
I don’t like this. Not one bit. In the background, I hear the click of a shutting door. “You there?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
He releases a gust of air. “Emma…”
My goodness, what the heck is the deal? “Dad?”
“Herself.”
“Huh?” Herself? What is he talking about? “What do you mean?”
“She was selling herself.”
Herself? Selling hers… “Pros-titution?” My voice cracks in the middle of that word. I can barely get the rest out. “She was prostituting her… herself?”
“That’s what they’re saying.”
This, that’s— “No.”
“Yes.”
