Today, all he'd done was worry that something might have happened to me—said two sentences on my behalf—and she acted like he'd betrayed her.
When they got home, the doorway was empty. They assumed I'd already come back.
Dad went straight to my room. He looked at the tangled sheets on my bed and frowned.
"She's not in here. Did either of you find her?"
Mom had collapsed onto the couch. Grandma emerged from the side bedroom. Both shook their heads.
Then came a knock at the door.
Mom shot to her feet, grabbed the broom from beside the entrance, and raised it like she was ready to swing.
"You little brat, I swear you—"
"What on earth are you all doing this late at night?"
Stella Chavez, our neighbor from next door, cut Mom off mid-sentence.
Mom forced an awkward smile, but before she could get a word out, Stella's gaze dropped to the broom in her hand.
"What are you doing with that broom?"
Mom sighed. "That girl's been gone all day. I thought she'd finally come home, so I was going to teach her a lesson."
Aunt Stella shot my mom a look of pure disdain. "Are you out of your mind?"
"You told me yourself she was home with a fever when you left at noon. How could she have possibly gone outside?"
Thud! The broom clattered to the floor.
Sensing something was wrong, Aunt Stella spoke up again. "If the child really did leave the house, you can check the security cameras with property management."
The moment my dad heard that, he shot up from the couch and turned to my grandmother. "Mom, stay here and watch Herbert. Lisa and I will go talk to the property office."
Grandma held my sleeping little brother in her arms and waved them off.
The two of them went to the property management office and explained the situation.
When they pulled up the surveillance footage, it was clear: after Grandma had left the apartment, I never once went downstairs.
On the walk back, my mom kept talking. "That girl's always been stubborn. She's probably hiding somewhere in the apartment."
"We just didn't look hard enough."
Before she even finished, my dad's attitude shifted completely. His voice rose sharp and loud.
"That girl is absolutely out of control."
"If she wants to hide so badly, she can stay hidden forever for all I care."
The moment they walked through the door, Grandma came over.
"Well? Did you find her?"
"No. She's definitely still hiding somewhere in the apartment."