Chapter 12 - The Meeting at Mom’s House
Two days later, my mother called and asked me to come over “to talk like adults.”
I told her I would come, but only if we could have a calm conversation without Lauren there. She agreed.
When I arrived, both my parents were waiting in the living room. Lauren was not there, but her presence lingered in the tension in the air.
Mom started first.
“Erin, we need to fix this. The family is falling apart. Lauren is devastated. She feels like you’ve painted her as some kind of monster.”
I sat on the edge of the couch, keeping my voice steady.
“Mom, Lauren stepped on Grace’s glasses. She made her clean while she couldn’t see. Grace has bruises. That’s not painting her as a monster. That’s describing what she did.”
Dad shifted in his chair but didn’t speak.
Mom sighed. “Grace is a sensitive child. She takes things too personally. Lauren was just trying to toughen her up a little.”
I looked at my father.
“Dad,” I said quietly, “you were there. You saw what happened. You didn’t say a word.”
He looked down at his hands.
“I didn’t think it was that serious,” he mumbled.
Something inside me cracked a little more.
I stood up.
“I came here hoping you would at least acknowledge that what happened to Grace was wrong,” I said. “But you’re still protecting Lauren. So there’s nothing left to talk about.”
Mom’s face hardened.
“If you keep this up, you’re going to lose your family, Erin.”
I looked at both of them.
“I already lost part of it the night you let Lauren hurt my daughter,” I said. “I’m just refusing to pretend anymore.”
I walked out before either of them could respond.
As I drove home, my hands were shaking on the steering wheel.
May you like
But for the first time in days, I didn’t feel like crying.
I felt clear.
