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Something didn’t feel right to him. His gut was churning and his mind reeling with what could be wrong.
    “Why doesn’t she spend more time with her mom?”
    Vincent knew what it was like to have parents not together. Ever since he could remember, his own parents had been separated. The more he thought about it, it became clear they were in the same situation, his mother marrying Sam who already had Adalyn and his dad being alone. His time had been split up half and half until he had gone to high school, but that was because of the whole mob thing, not because he felt bad for his dad being lonely. If anything, she should want to stay with her mom more because of the whole mob thing.
    Vincent ran his hands through his almost-dry hair, knowing he was trying to come up with any excuse to turn around.
    “Shit, did I make a mistake?”
    No, you did the right thing.
    The farther he drove away from Lake, the saner he became. By the time he made it to his father’s house, he had wiped Lake clean from his mind.
    Stepping out of the car was almost like he had hit a ‘clear memory’ button.
    *  *  *
    Lake quietly closed the front door, praying she could escape to her bedroom unnoticed. Please, God, I beg you, of all days, this is honestly the one I can’t —
    “Lake, there you are!”
    “Oh. Hey, Mom.” Lake hugged her mom who was squeezing her tightly.
    “Where were you yesterday? How was your first week back at school?” Her mother talked a mile a minute.
    “I heard you were going out with friends, so I figured it would be okay if Adalyn and I hung out.” Lake had to force a smile. “School was great.”
    Her mom smiled wide. “Of course it was okay, honey. I’m glad your first week back was great.” She began to look her up and down. “Lake, why must you always wear those old hoodies and jeans? I know you have plenty of clothes.”
    “I just—”
    “That reminds me; look what I bought you!” Her mother dragged her into the living room and picked up the bags beside the couch. “I went to the mall this week and had to pick these up for you.”
    Great .
    “Thank you, Mom. I can’t wait to wear them.” Lake’s face started to turn sore from pretending to smile so much.
    “All right, honey; I have to go. John gave me a bunch of errands to run. I’ll see you later tonight.”
    No-no-no-no-no.
    “Oh, you’re leaving? Already?”
    “Yeah, I’m sorry. You know how John gets when he wants something.”
    Unfortunately, all too well.
    Her mother kissed her on the cheek. “Bye, honey. I love you.”
    “Love you, too, Mom.” Sadly, Lake didn’t have to fake that. She did love her mom because, at the end of the day, she was her mother.
    She squeezed her eyes shut and began to pray again as her mother walked out the front door.
    “Get your fucking ass in here!” she heard the man yell in the other room.
    Run. Run while you can.
    “I said get your fucking ass in here!” That time, the yell was louder.
    Lake reluctantly moved her feet and headed for the den. You have to. You don’t have a choice.
    She walked into the room and saw the huge TV screen playing football then, all of a sudden, it was paused. Her eyes traveled to the recliner holding a grubby, older man.
    “Are you a fucking retard or somethin’? I yelled for you twice.”
    “S-sorry, I-I—”
    He started mocking her. “Uh-uh-uh-uh.”
    She heard cackling in the doorway and turned to see Ashley.
    “From my understanding, you didn’t come home yesterday because you didn’t want to be here while your mom was gone, so I made sure she’ll be gone all day,” he said.
    Lake shook her head. “No, I had already—”
    He sat up in his chair, about to get up. “Don’t you lie.”
    Lake nodded, closing her mouth.
    He pointed his finger right at her, his face turning evil. “Your mom is gone, so now you’re mine. Clean this fucking house from top to bottom and do what trailer trash does best. Save me some of my goddamn money your mom likes