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If it’s true that Lara and Corbin knew Fallon was missing before I arrived, they must know more than they are letting on.
I think?—
My mouth runs dry, and the lobby of the courthouse narrows around me as I walk toward the front doors.
I think I was framed to be there that night…
FORTY-TWO
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14TH 11:00 AM
My hand shakes as I turn the key in the ignition of my car. My lungs strain against each inhale I take. I’m still lightheaded which keeps me from backing out of my parking spot.
It’s not fair. Every kid deserves a carefree childhood, one that comes without criminal manipulation. Lara and Corbin should be held responsible for whatever direction this case goes. They are the parents. They have a responsibility to protect Madden as well as Blakely and Fallon. Except, it seems they’re only concerned about protecting themselves.
Maybe I’m wrong.
If a child hates their parent or parents, it’s for a significant reason, whether a change in the parents’ behavior toward them, or a life changing incident, or tearing the child away from their only form of comfort. In most life cases, children can be persuaded to forgive and forget. They naturally get over resentment and anger within minutes of the initial cause. When they don’t move forward and on with their day or life, it’s usually because the source of discontentment is constantly present.
The human mind isn’t as complicated as most think. We survive off cause and effect.
The cause is the root.
I want to know I said enough to help Madden, but she could be lying. I’m sure that’s what everyone who was in that courtroom was thinking. Anyone would want to believe a young child over a couple of snooty uptight parents. But not anyone would put all their trust into a nine-year-old. Not everyone will believe her.
With erratic breaths still fogging my mind, I pull the gear into reverse and skid out of the parking lot.
Nothing can be ignored and forgotten. Everything must be dealt with to reach a true end that can be put to rest.
My foot is heavy on the gas, but I feel like I’m running out of time to act on my adrenaline-raged courage.
The minutes escape me as I drive down roads I’ve memorized. I don’t need to press on my brake until I stop in front of the rickety old blue house with rotting shingles.
I slam my car door without concern for the warning they’ll receive before I charge in through the front door.
The house doesn’t smell like trash today and there aren’t any bugs flying around.
Dad is resting on the sunken sofa, watching replays of a baseball game on the small TV resting on top of a short, single column bookshelf. “Where’s Mom?” I ask.
“Where do you think she is?” Dad responds without breaking his stare from the TV. “Not even a hello for your dad before you come in here hootin’ and hollerin’ at us for something else we’ve done wrong? I thought you were determined to get away from us again?”
“Mom?” I shout, figuring she’s down the narrow hallway in her bedroom.
I hear her moving around but it takes a minute before she steps out of her room and closes the door behind her. “What is it now? Are you going to say more awful things and then run awayagain?” she asks, her voice calm and unaffected by my obvious anger.
“Why did you ruin my life?” I ask them as she sits down next to Dad on the sofa.
They twist to look at each other as if they can’t believe the words coming out of my mouth. “Ruin your life?” Mom repeats.
“All you did was lie to me or keep things from me all while holding me up at home like I was your hostage. I tried to convince myself you were overprotective and there was such a thing as loving a child too much, but your behavior never made sense to me until I figured out what you both had been hiding from me. You made decisions that affected my life—that made me feel the need to break away from you.”
Children are a mold of their parents’ shadows and when they displace their issues onto innocent minds, corruption, confusion, and paranoia follows. This is what the Smiths have done to Madden and now she’s facing a life altering consequence that she might forever be too afraid to tell the truth about.
“We chose to keep you safe. I hardly think that’s a reason to hate us or feel the need to break away and shut us out of your life.”
“What were you keeping me safe from?” I ask them, feeling the room wobble as I look back and forth between the two of them. “It was you. That’s the answer. You didn’t do right by me, keeping me locked up at home, silenced by the fear of what others might think of our family. I was forced to be a recluse to keep your secrets safe. But in reality, everyone in our town knew your truths before I did. Do you know what that was like for me?”
Dad exhales sharply and grabs his flimsy remote to shut off the TV. “Haley, we will always continue to remind you that not everything is as it seems, even your misconceptions ofour reality. This is why you decided to go to school to study psychology, is it not?”
