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One thing’s for certain, I needed to get Dream out of the house while I plotted on Storie. I knew that Monica’s parents would love to have her for a bit.
Inhaling deeply, I picked up my phone.
Neasy picked up the phone. “Hey Justice? How are my girls?”
“They’re okay. Is Gerald there with you?”
“Yes. Let me put you on speaker. What’s wrong?”
“What’s going on Justice?”
“I need a favor. I’ve got a family emergency, and I need to know if Dream can stay with y’all in Pittsburgh for the rest of the school year.”
“The rest of the school year?” her mother repeated. “What happened?”
“I’ve got some things I need to handle here.”
“Is somebody sick?”
“No. Dream’s fine. Her arm is healing.”
“Then why are you sending her away?”
I rubbed my forehead. I knew they’d ask, but I still wasn’t ready to explain why I needed one daughter away from the other.
“I need to spend some time getting things straight with Storie. I can’t give Dream the attention she needs while I do that.”
“What’s going on with Storie?” her father asked.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
Neither of them answered immediately. I could hear the wheels in their heads turning.
“Justice, you’re worrying us.”
“I know. I wish I had more to tell you right now.”
“Of course she can come,” her mother said. “You know that. But what about school? Her doctor? She still has that cast.”
“I’ll handle the school and make sure she has somebody there to follow up on her arm. Whatever she needs, I’ll take care of it.”
“You don’t have to convince us to take our granddaughter,” Monica’s father said. “We’re trying to understand what’s happening.”
I lowered my voice.
“I’m trying to keep it from happening. Please just help me with this.”
Her mother exhaled into the phone.
“We’ll get her room ready. When are you bringing her?”
“This weekend. I’ll bring her myself.”
“We can’t wait to see her.”
Once we got off the phone, I stood up and made my way to the kitchen. With Dream out of the house, I could fully focus on how to handle Storie.
I swear I wanted to just wrap my hands around her neck, but she was my daughter. She was only fifteen. Surely, she couldn’t have been 100 percent evil. There had to be a way to save her.
