I didn’t know who said it. Maybe my father. Maybe a cop.
My head snapped back and forth, searching faces that blurred together.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “No, she was here. I left. She was in her room, she said she was…” My thoughts slipped, unraveling too fast to hold.
“She’s gone,” my mom screamed, collapsing in front of me. “She’s gone, Violet.”
The world tilted and an iciness flooded my veins.
“No!” The word came out sharp, desperate. “No, she probably just, maybe she went out, maybe she?—”
“She didn’t go out.” My father’s voice cut through everything. I froze.
He stood across the room, rigid, controlled, but his eyes… His eyes were something else entirely.
“You were supposed to be here,” he said, each word deliberate, heavy. “You were supposed to be watching her.”
My chest tightened.
“I… I just.” My voice faltered. “I was gone a few hours, I…”
“A few hours?” he snapped, stepping toward me. “A few hours and now she’s gone.” The words hit harder than anything else in the room. “You left her alone.” Something inside me cracked.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t think… I didn’t know… I’m so sorry,” I whispered, my eyes burning while my chest twisted with agony, making it hard to breathe.
“You’re useless,” Father spat, eyes burning with hate. “You’ll never have children. Dare to have one, and I’ll make sure you feel this, Violet. You hear me. You’ll lose your child as I’ve lost mine.”
A cold shiver ran down my spine at his promise, a deep warning in his expression telling me he meant it. My father’s threats were never empty.
“Dick… Richard…” My mom attempted to stand up for me and failed when he shot her a glare. She shrank into herself, another sob tearing through her lips.
“Lily is gone because of you,” Father accused. “You’re to blame and nobody else.”
My mouth opened to apologize again, but no sound came out and I wrapped my arms around myself, never feeling more alone than I did at this moment.
“Dare to have a child, Violet,” Father continued with a hiss, “And I’ll snatch it from you like you snatched everything from me. You’ll feel pain, I promise you that.”
“Sir, that’s enough,” an officer cut in, stepping between us, but it didn’t matter. Because he was right. I’d left her.
I couldn’t breathe. The room spun. “I wasn’t here,” I whispered. “I wasn’t here.” A hand touched my arm, steady, grounding.
“Hey. Look at me.”
I turned slightly. A female officer crouched in front of me, her voice calm but firm. “What’s your name?”
“V-Violet.”
“I’m Officer Reyes. I need you to breathe, okay? In… and out.”
I tried. It didn’t work. Every breath came too fast, too shallow, like my body had forgotten how to function. My eyes dropped back to the floor.
The blood.
“I left her,” I whispered.
“That’s not what this is. This isn’t your fault,” she said gently, her hand tightening on my shoulder. But I barely heard her. All I could see was Lily. Alone. Afraid. Because I wasn’t here.
If I had stayed…
