A Mother's Fight For Her Daughter

till there, a physical reminder of the violation. They didn't clean.

st Ashley staying over,

third day, her mom showed up with a suitcase. Ashley said her mom's boyfriend kicked her

he bro

eir stepdad and had nowhere to go. She promised it was just un

emotion. She was recounting the sl

et. Then her mom started using my laptop without asking. When I tried to say something, Ashley would pull me

find something good and they wrap themselves around it so tight that they choke the life out of it. They test your boundaries, one inch at

er, her eyes filled with

o. That's not a flaw, Emily. But the world has wolves in it, and they love to dress up like sheep

le tear rolling down

new apartment. A better one, in a building with a d

service that specialized in biohazard and crime scene cleanup. The seco

Miller's mother. I need to talk to yo

e woman in her fifties. "Ah, yes. Ashley.

not," Sara

ttaches herself to studious girls, uses their notes, gets them to help with her assignments. We've had a few informal complai

. "Thank you, Professor.

ady knew. Ashley had a pattern. This wasn

don't answer her texts, you don't acknowledge her if you see her on campus. I

s,

ine. Sarah found a promising one in a secure building and sc

ticed Emily was being quiet. Too quiet. S

wrong,

er phone off. "Nothi

lying. "Emily, sh

hing, Mom

' s voice was

ed her the phone. Sarah unlocked

going to kill me if she finds out what I w

sank. "What

head, tears welling up again. "I can't find it. M

adn' t just stolen things; they had s

id you write i

nt, trembling ball of misery. Sarah knew, with a sickening certainty, that whatever was in that