As the days passed, Therese tried to clear her mind. Tried to believe that Leah was safe and that everything would be okay and that Leah knew what she was doing. A few mornings later, she was lying in bed, reciting a prayer she was too embarrassed to admit she needed, when suddenly the phone rang. Tim was in the bathroom, and when he turned on the faucet, the pipes rattled, making it sound even more like Leah was speaking under water. Her words came out slow and distorted.

“What did you say?” Therese asked into the phone.

Tim flushed the toilet, and the wall between them shook. He came back into the room to finish getting ready for work.

“I need you,” Leah said.

The receiver dropped out of her hand. Acid filled her mouth, and the next thing she knew, she was kneeling over the trashcan. Matilda must have walked into the room. She could hear Tim singing to her. A song about boats and life being a dream, which made her insides churn even more. The room started to swirl, making it hard for her to dress. Tim asked if she was okay, and she mumbled something that must have sounded reasonable because he got his things together and left.

She had been lying to him, working extra days and leaving Matilda with Barbara instead of spending the money on the babysitter he had found. Meticulously saving every penny so that they could finally move out. Most days she was careful about waiting to leave until he was well on his way and returning home before he even finished his shifts.

But today was different.

She walked outside, but the cold wet grass made her realize she had forgotten her shoes. Inside, she found a pair of Tim’s old slippers and put them on. They were too big, so she took them off in the car, and when she hit the gas, the pedal against her bare foot made her feel even smaller.

Even though logic told her there was nothing more she could have done, sharp pangs of guilt made her breath choppy and uneven. She drove to the house and slowly got out of the car and shuffled toward the front door. Looking down at her feet, she realized her toe was poking through a small hole in the slipper and wondered why it was that Tim never knew when to throw things away.

She stood in front of the house for a few minutes before knocking. The sky was blue and the smell of grass wafted through the air. Part of her wanted to run. To enjoy the sunshine instead of walking into the darkness she knew lay ahead, but something pushed her, and when she put her hand on the doorknob, it turned and opened easily.