Emily is 14 years old. His dad, Mark, and I broke up years ago. He is one of those who remember your favorite flavor of ice cream, but forgets to sign permits or schedule appointments with the dentist. Mark has a big heart, but zero organization, and I couldn’t carry it all alone anymore.

I thought Emily had handled the divorce well.

But adolescence has a way of removing what one believes is already resolved.

On the surface, Emily was fine.

A little quieter, maybe more glued to the phone, a little obsessed with huge sweatshirts that covered half of her face… but nothing that would scream “emergency”.

I left for school every morning at 7:30 a.m. His grades were good, and whenever I asked him how it went, he always said it was good.

Then the school called.
I answered instantly. I assumed he had a fever or that he had forgotten his sneakers at the gym.

“I’m Mrs. Carter, Emily’s tutor. I wanted to call because Emily has been gone all week.

I almost laughed: it was so unbecoming of my Emily.

“That can’t be,” I pushed the chair back. He leaves the house every morning. I see her walk through the door.

There was a heavy pause.

“No,” said Mrs. Carter. He hasn’t been to any of his classes since Monday.

“Since Monday…?” Okay. Thank you for letting me know. I’m going to talk to her.

I hung up and sat down. My daughter had been pretending to go to school all week… so where had she really been?

When Emily came back that afternoon, I was waiting for her.

“How did you do in school, Em?” I asked naturally.

“The usual,” he said. They left me a lot of math homework, and History is very boring.

“And your friends?”

He stiffened.

“On?”

Emily rolled her eyes and groaned.

“What is this?” The Spanish Inquisition?

She slammed the door into her room, and I watched her disappear down the hallway. She had lied to me four days in a row, so facing her head-on would probably only push her to lie more.

I needed another tactic.

The next morning I continued the routine.
I saw her come down the driveway. Then I ran to the car. I parked a little far away from the bus stop and watched her get on. So far, nothing strange.

I followed the bus. When he stopped huffing and puffing in front of the high school, an avalanche of teenagers got out. Emily was among them.

But when the crowd made their way to the double doors, she turned away.

He stood near the stop sign.

What are you doing?

The answer came quickly.

An old pickup truck pulled up to the sidewalk. It had rust around the fenders and dented tailgate. Emily opened the passenger door and got in.

My pulse quickened in my ears. My first impulse was to call the police. I even put my hand on the phone… but she had smiled when she saw the truck. He climbed on of his own volition.

The truck started. I followed her.

Maybe I was exaggerating, but even though I wasn’t in danger, I was still skipping school… And I needed to understand why.

They headed towards the outskirts, where shopping centers become less frequent and give way to green and quiet areas. In the end they got into a gravel parking lot near the lake.

“If I’m about to catch you skipping school to be with a boyfriend you haven’t told me anything about…” I murmured, as I parked behind them.

I stopped some distance away and then I saw the driver.

“It can’t be!”

I got out so fast that I didn’t even close the car door.

I was furious towards the truck. Emily saw me first. She was laughing at something he said, but her smile disappeared when we exchanged glances.

I hit the driver’s window hard.

Slowly, he went down.

“Hey, Zoe, what are you doing?”

“Following them,” I leaned against the door. What are you doing? Emily should be in school, and why the hell are you handling this? Where is your Ford?

“Well, I took him to the body shop, but no.”
I raised my hand, sharply.

“Emily first. Why are you helping her miss school? You’re his father, Mark. You should know.

Emily leaned forward.

“I asked you, Mom. It wasn’t his idea.

“But he still accepted. What exactly is going on here?

Mark calmly raised his hands.

“She asked me to pick her up because she didn