Chapter 2: The Family They Pretended To Be
The drive home was silent.
Not the peaceful kind.
The kind where every second feels heavy.
Lily sat in the back seat hugging her stuffed rabbit, staring out the window at passing houses decorated with Thanksgiving lights.
I kept checking the rearview mirror.
Every time I saw the red mark on her cheek, anger rushed through me again.
But underneath the anger was something worse.
Guilt.
Because I kept thinking about all the moments I had ignored.
All the times I told myself, That’s just how the Petersons are.
I remembered Lily’s birthday three months earlier.
She had been wearing a pink dress and spinning around the living room when Carol looked at her and said, “Careful, sweetheart. Dresses like that make little girls look bigger than they are.””
Lily had stopped spinning.
She had looked down at herself.
She was four years old.
I should have said something.
I didn’t.
I told myself Carol didn’t mean it.
I remembered Megan laughing when Lily cried after her cousin ripped a picture she had drawn.
“Wow,” Megan had said.
“She’s really sensitive.””
Again, I stayed quiet.
I remembered Daniel coming home after those dinners and saying the same thing.
“They’re just joking.””
“They don’t mean anything by it.””
“You know my family.””
But maybe I didn’t.
Maybe I only knew the version they wanted me to know.
When we reached home, Lily slowly climbed out of the car.
“Mommy?””
“Yes?””
“Are we still a family?””
The question stopped me.
I knelt in front of her.
“Of course we are.””
She looked confused.
“But Daddy stayed.””
I swallowed.
Children noticed everything.
Things adults tried to hide.
I hugged her.
“Daddy loves you.””
I wanted to believe that.
I needed to believe that.
But later that night, when Daniel finally came home, I wasn’t sure anymore.
The front door opened around midnight.
I was sitting on the couch in the dark.
Daniel walked in and froze.
“You’re awake.””
I looked at him.
“Yes.””
He dropped his keys on the table.
“Chloe, we need to talk.””
I almost smiled.
“Do we?””
He sighed.
“Don’t do that.””
“Do what?””
“Make this bigger than it was.””
I stared at him.
There it was again.
The same sentence.
The same excuse.
“You think I made it bigger?””
“I think you shouldn’t have slapped Megan.””
I felt something cold settle inside me.
“You’re worried about Megan?””
“No. I’m saying two wrongs don’t make a right.””
“My daughter was hit.””
“And you hit my sister.””
“She’s an adult.””
“So that makes it okay?””
I stood.
“No, Daniel. It makes it different.””
He looked away.
That hurt more than if he had argued.
Because deep down, I think I already knew.
“Did you even ask Lily if she was okay?””
His silence answered.
“Daniel.””
“I was shocked.””
“You were sitting right there.””
“I didn’t know what to do.””
I laughed softly.
“You didn’t know what to do when your sister hit your child?””
He rubbed his face.
“She shouldn’t have done it.””
“Then why are you defending her?””
“I’m not.””
“You are.””
The room went quiet.
Then he said something I never expected.
“Mom says you’ve always tried to separate me from my family.””
I stared at him.
I actually thought I had heard wrong.
“Your mother said that?””
“Yes.””
“And you believe her?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
That was enough.
The next morning, I woke up to my phone buzzing.
At first, I thought it was Daniel.
It wasn’t.
It was a message from Megan.
I opened it.
*You embarrassed me in front of everyone. You will regret making me look like the villain.*
My fingers tightened around the phone.
Then another message appeared.
*You think you’re protecting Lily, but you have no idea what you’re about to lose.*
A chill ran through me.
Because Megan wasn’t apologizing.
She wasn’t sorry.
She was threatening me.
And then my phone rang.
The number wasn’t saved.
I answered.
“Hello?””
A woman’s voice whispered:
“Chloe Peterson?””
“Yes?””
There was a pause.
May you like
Then she said:
“I need to talk to you about your daughter… and what your husband’s family has been hiding.””
