Chapter 3: Morning
Lily woke early, disoriented for a moment before she remembered where she was. I made instant oatmeal from the emergency supplies and sat across from her at the small table while she ate.
“Am I still going to school?” she asked.
“Not today. Tomorrow we’ll figure out the next steps. Today we rest and make a plan.”
She nodded, accepting the answer with the serious focus she had always shown when something important needed sorting. After breakfast she colored on hotel stationery while I used the room phone to make the first necessary calls.
I contacted my sister in Dayton, who listened without interruption and then said, “Come here if you need to. Both of you. No discussion.” I thanked her and said I would decide by evening. I called Lily’s school to report a family emergency and request two days’ absence. I checked the balance on the separate savings account Marcus had never paid attention to—enough for a few weeks of careful living, not enough for a new life.
At midday my phone lit up with the first messages from Marcus.
You’re being dramatic.
Bring Lily home.
This is about control, not the piano.
I muted the thread and set the phone face down.
Lily looked up from her coloring.
“Was that Daddy?”
“Yes.”
“Is he mad?”
May you like
“Yes. That is his problem to manage, not yours.”
She considered this, then returned to the page. The simple authority in her acceptance steadied me more than any of the messages could unsettle me.
