Chapter 12

A knock at the door interrupted what would’ve been a pretty good buck-toothed rabbit face my dad was constructing on a short stack. “I’ll get it,” my mom said, pulling herself away from blueberry eyes. I could tell by the way she looked at my dad that she was reluctant to see who had come calling. They exchanged nervous glances.

Something twisted inside of me, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Have you ever had something really terrible going on in your life, and for a few moments you lose track of it, like it’s not consciously on your mind, but then it starts to creep in, and before it even registers in your brain, your stomach starts to hurt, like a sharp knife has been plummeted in from the side, a sneak attack? It was like that. I looked at my dad and he offered a small smile before he, too, pushed back his chair. “Go ahead and eat, Cass. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”

I nodded, and he exited the dinin