“You don’t know what they’ll do!”
“You’re right,” I admitted. “I don’t know exactly what they’ll do. But I know we cannot solve this by leaving you alone with it.”
Mark stepped closer.
“Your mom’s right, Emmy.”
Emily stared at him.
“You’re saying that now?”
He winced.
“Yes. And I should have said it earlier.”
She looked from him to me, breathing quickly.
For a moment, I thought she might run.
Instead, she lowered her head and began to cry.
Not the quiet tears she had hidden in her bedroom.
Not the frustrated tears she had wiped away with her sleeves.
These were the tears of a child who had spent too long trying to be brave.
I opened my arms.
This time, she stepped into them.
I held her tightly while Mark stood beside us, one hand resting on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered into her hair. “I’m so sorry I didn’t realize how bad it had become.”
