Chapter 14 - SIXTEEN
Mom went silent when I showed her the line.
We were sitting in a booth at a quiet diner near her hotel.
"What happened when Lauren and I were sixteen?"
She stared into her coffee.
"Mom."
"There was a party."
I remembered the party vaguely. Lauren had come home late. Dad had grounded her for two weeks, then changed his mind after three days.
"What happened?"
Mom's fingers tightened around the mug.
"Lauren drove home after drinking."
"What?"
"She had your father's car. She hit a mailbox and went into a ditch. Nobody was hurt."
"Why don't I remember that?"
"We told you she hit black ice."
"Did the police come?"
Mom nodded.
"Your father knew one of the officers. He convinced him to let us take her home."
I sat back.
"And Lauren thinks that excuses what she did to Emma?"
"No. But I think she believes we've always owed her protection because we protected her then."
"You taught her that."
Mom closed her eyes.
"Yes."
She took a breath.
"Your father used to say Lauren was fragile. That if we pushed too hard, she'd fall apart. You were the steady one, so we expected you to bend."
I stared at her.
"You punished me for being easier to hurt."
Mom began to cry.
"Yes."
I did not comfort her.
Not because I hated her.
Because some pain needed to be allowed to exist.
A week later, a hearing was scheduled on the child abuse charge and a request for a protective order barring Lauren from contact with Emma.
Dad was listed as a defense witness.
Mom was listed for the prosecution.
May you like
The morning before the hearing, Mom called me at 5:42 a.m.
"Sarah," she whispered, "your father emptied our joint checking account last night."
