He grits his teeth, stepping closer to me. “Get your ass back in that fucking house before I burn it to the ground.” His voice is sharp with pure venom.
I tap my phone screen, going to my most recent call history. I select my dad’s name with shaky fingers.
I stare at Matt as the ring fills the silence.
“Hello?” my father answers, thankfully.
“Hey, Dad. I just wanted to let you know that I’m leaving to go stay with my friend for the night. And Matt won’t let me.”
Matt’s eyes blaze.
“What? What’s going on?” my father says, concern etched in his voice.
“Sir, I truly don’t know what’s gotten into your daughter. We had a little disagreement, and she’s trying to run off. She’s honestly scaring me with the way she’s acting, and I don’t know if the boys will be safe with her.”
I gape at the change in his tone. He sounds calm and reasonable, a little embarrassed by me even.
“Dallas, why are you leaving? Haven’t you two been in counseling?”
I blow out an exhale, trying to remain calm when all I want to do is scream and run.
“I just think we need some time to cool off before we keep talking about this. Things got a little heated, and I want to take a break from the arguing. I’ll be back in the morning to talk it out.”
He shakes his head, trying to tell me to stop, but I know if I don’t leave now, I might never get the chance to.
“Well, that sounds reasonable, doesn’t it, son? Having a plan set in motion while you separate to pray about things isn’t a bad idea.”
Matt knows he can’t argue with that. “I just think she can calm down here, at home. We don’t have to talk it out.”
I yank open the door and jump inside, hitting the lock button.
“I’m just going to my friend’s house. I’ll call you tomorrow, Dad. I’m leaving now.”
“Let me know when you get there. We’re having company, so I have to go.”
“Okay, bye!” I try to infuse some enthusiasm into my voice so that he thinks I’m okay.
I start reversing the car. Matt watches me, his expressioncold and unmoving until he’s out of sight and I’m driving on the road.
“Mommy, I hungry!” one of the boys says.
I mindlessly hand them each a bag of crackers I had the forethought to always keep in my purse for emergencies. It quiets them down enough for me to navigate to Jo’s contact in my phone.
She’s my only local friend I can think of to reach out to. I could call Rosie, but she has two kids of her own and doesn’t need my mess right now. Ever since Jo and I became friends, she’s seemed to dislike my husband. She even asked me once if I ever thought about divorce. It felt strange at the time, but now I’m wondering if she sensed something no one else has.
She picks up on the second ring. “Hello?”
“Jo, hi.”
“What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if my kids and I could come over and sleep on your floor tonight.”
I hold my breath. Jo lives in a tiny apartment with a roommate.
“Yeah, sure. Come on over.”
“On our way now.”
