My Dad Left Us to Die While Cheating With Mom’s SisterChapter 2

Mom was in pain all afternoon.

She sat on the couch, arms wrapped around her belly, eyes fixed on the front door. Every few minutes she asked me, "Is Daddy home yet?"

I would run to the door and peek, then run back to the window.

Dad's car wasn't in the lot downstairs.

Mom said Dad had promised to bring home strawberry ice cream tonight.

I couldn't bring myself to tell her he wouldn't even answer the phone.

A little after six, it got dark. Mom tried to pour me some water, but after two steps, she suddenly braced herself against the wall.

"Mommy, sit down."

"I'm fine."

The words barely left her mouth before her legs gave out and she crumpled to the floor.

I burst into tears.

She pushed herself up with her hands, reached out, and wiped my tears. "Don't cry. Mommy just fell, that's all."

But her hands were terrifyingly cold.

I ran into the kitchen and turned on the faucet.

Not a single drop came out.

"Mommy, there's no water either."

Mom steadied herself against the wall and came over, staring blankly at the faucet.

"Daddy turned it off."

"Why did Daddy turn off the water?"

"He said he needed to check the pipes. He'll remember to turn it back on."

I called Dad again. No answer.

I called Rachel. After a long time, she finally picked up.

"What now?"

"There's no water at home. Mommy's tummy hurts. Please tell Daddy to come back."

"Can you two stop bothering Mark for one day?"

"Mommy really hurts."

I heard a man's voice on the other end. It sounded like Dad.

I called out as fast as I could: "Daddy, can you hear me?"

Rachel moved the phone away. After a moment, she came back on.

"Mark says you're just trying to get him to come home."

"I'm not."

"Then why have you been calling all day?"

"Because Mommy's in pain."

Rachel's voice turned cold. "Isn't she always like this? The second she feels a little pain, she plays the victim, and the second she plays the victim, Mark drops everything."

Mom reached for the phone. "Give it to me."

She pressed it to her ear. Her voice was barely there.

"Mark, I'm... I really don't feel well."

There was no reply from Dad.

Rachel sighed. "Lily, knock it off. Mark finally gets one day out, and you're trying to drag him back again?"

Mom went still for a long time. "Who are you?"

The other end went suddenly quiet.

"Lily, you don't even recognize me?"

Mom flinched as if something had frightened her and flung the phone to the floor. The screen cracked down the middle. The call cut out.

She curled up in the corner against the wall, arms wrapped around her belly.

"Emmy, does Daddy not want us anymore?"

I shook my head hard. "Daddy said he'd come back."

"He did say that."

"Yeah. He said it."

That night, Dad didn't come home.

There was no food in the house, and no water. I went through every corner of the kitchen and found nothing but half a stale roll and a few pieces of chicken smeared with dried sauce at the bottom of the trash can.

Mom shook her head. "We can't eat dirty things."

"But I'm hungry."

She was quiet for a long time.

I held out the chicken to her. "Mommy, you eat this."

Mom kept her head down. "Mommy's not hungry. Emmy eats first."

"You have little sister in your tummy. She's hungry too."

She paused. Her voice was so small I could barely hear it.

"Mommy's hungry too."

We sat on the cold tile floor and choked it all down, bit by bit.

In the middle of the night, I was so thirsty I couldn't stand it. Mom took me to the bathroom, scooped a cup of cloudy water from the toilet tank, and handed it to me.

"There's water in here. And it won't run out."

I closed my eyes and swallowed it, mouthful by mouthful.

In that moment, I missed Dad so much it hurt.

I wanted to ask him why there was no cake on the table. Why Mom was in that much pain and he still wouldn't come home.

But when I dialed his number, all I got was the same automated tone, over and over: no answer.