Misty shook her head. “And I don’t want to be here when you tell him.”
“You can stay in your room, if you like. Why don’t you take some cookies and milk upstairs for you and your brother?”
Misty’s eyes widened with surprise. “You baked cookies today?”
The shock on her daughter’s face was too telling. Things evidently hadn’t been the way they should have been around here for far too long. “I did. I was a little distracted, so they might be a bit brown around the edges, but I think they’re edible.”
Misty bounced out of her chair and threw her arms around her. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“They’re just cookies,” Diana said, even as she realized that to Misty they were far more. They were a hint that things might be returning to normal, or at least to whatever the new normal might be. It shook her to realize how little her children had come to expect from her.
When Misty had filled a plate with the chocolate chip cookies that had always been her favorite, she poured two glasses of milk, then gave Diana another hug before heading upstairs, shouting for Jake en route.
“There are cookies,” she sang out. “Mom baked!”
Diana closed her eyes against yet another potential flood of tears, then determinedly reached for the portable phone and took it outside.
“Les, it’s me,” she said when her husband picked up. “You need to come over.”
“Is this some new trumped-up crisis?” he asked, his tone resigned. “Give it up, Diana. I’m not moving back home.”
She drew in a deep breath at his harsh, justifiably suspicious words, then said, “I’ve finally accepted that, but you do need to come over. There’s a problem with Misty and it’s serious.”
“What’s happened to Misty?” he asked, real panic immediately evident in his voice. “Was she in an accident? Is she okay?”
“Physically she’s fine, but you’re not going to believe what she’s been going through on her own, because you and I have been too preoccupied to pay close enough attention to her.”
He sucked in a breath, then blurted, “Dear God, she’s not pregnant, is she?”
“No, but instead of throwing out possibilities, could you please come over here so I can fill you in on the facts?”
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” he said at once.
Diana turned off the phone with a sigh. Whatever had gone on between the two of them, however badly their marriage had deteriorated, she couldn’t deny that Les loved his kids. He might not always know the best way to demonstrate that love, but she knew she could count on him to be there for them. She was the one who had to get used to the idea of living without him.
As of today, though, there was no longer any question that she had to find a way to do just that.
* * *
Cookies or no cookies, tonight was turning out to be the worst night of Misty’s entire life. Her dad came over after the call from her mom. Even in her room, she could hear them in the living room, fighting like always. When she couldn’t stand it, she went to the top of the steps and sat listening. Okay, she knew eavesdropping was bad, but they were fighting about her. She figured she was entitled to hear what they were saying.
“How could you let a thing like this happen?” her father shouted. “You say it’s been going on since school started. Aren’t you supposed to know when your own child is being tormented by another kid? If you’re too self-absorbed to pay any attention to what’s going on with Misty and Jake, maybe I should fight for custody.”
That was the very last straw for Misty. She bolted down the steps and into the living room.
“No!” she shouted at her startled father. “Don’t you dare blame Mom. She didn’t know because I didn’t want her to know. She was already falling apart because of you. I didn’t think she could take any more.”
Her dad seemed to wilt under the attack. “Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry,” he said, reaching for her.
Misty pulled away. “Too late. And what are you sorry for anyway? What happened to me? Leaving us? What? Being sorry doesn’t help.”
“I think we all need to calm down,” Diana said, her tone amazingly strong.
She sounded more like her old self than she had in months, Misty thought, regarding her with shock.
“Let’s sit down and talk this through,” her mom said in that same quietly determined tone.
Amazingly, her father sat right down on the sofa next to Misty. Her mother settled on her other side.
“Misty, we are both terribly sorry that we’ve been so caught up in our own drama that we completely missed that you were in trouble,” Diana said gently.
“Don’t apologize for Dad,” Misty said with a sniff.
Her father put his arm around her, and this time she didn’t pull away. She let herself lean into him, seeking strength just as she had when she’d run home hurt.
“I am sorry, kiddo,” he said. “But we know about everything now, and we are on your side a hundred percent. Whatever it takes, we’re going to settle this once and for all.”
“I just want it all to go away,” Misty told him. She tried once again to get some backing for what she thought the best solution to be. “Maybe we could pretend it never happened.”
Her dad only hugged her a little closer. “Believe me, I can understand why you’d want that, but you know it would be wrong to let Annabelle get away with this, right? It’s not just about you. She could do this to someone else. Bullies don’t always pick just one target. It’s essential that they learn a lesson and learn it fast.”
“But I’m the only one she thinks is after her boyfriend,” Misty persisted.
Her mom gave her a questioning look. “And are you?”
“No way,” Misty said indignantly.
“Then what makes you think there’s not another girl who might accidentally look at Greg the wrong way and get Annabelle all freaked out?” her mom asked. “Or that he’s not making a pass at half a dozen other girls right now that she might not know about yet? You’re her target today, but it could easily be someone else tomorrow. She has to be stopped. Honey, you do see that, don’t you?”
Misty heaved a resigned sigh.
