Paige looked at me with frightened eyes, but she obeyed. She emptied her backpack onto the coffee table beneath the Christmas tree. Library books, her laptop, a water bottle, and a wallet containing eleven dollars were scattered across the surface. There was no missing money. Darlene wasn’t satisfied. She demanded that someone search Paige’s coat, so Troy retrieved it from the closet and checked every pocket. Again, nothing.
“Then she hid it somewhere,” Darlene insisted. “I want to see her phone, too.”
Paige began crying quietly, trying desperately not to let anyone notice. I had never seen her so humiliated. I stood up and told everyone we were leaving. But before I could reach her, Dad rose from his recliner. He hadn’t spoken once during the accusation. Without explaining himself, he walked down the hallway, opened the coat closet, and returned carrying an old brown teddy bear. I recognized it immediately. It had belonged to me as a child, and lately it had been sitting on the living-room bookshelf, facing the hallway.
THE STORY CONTINUES ON THE NEXT PAGE… 👇👇👇
