The sound of the door slamming echoed down the corridor like thunder, sharp and trembling. Willa’s small footsteps pattered away, each one quicker than the last as tears blurred her sight. Her breath came out in ragged sobs, her small chest aching with confusion and fear.
She recalled her mother’s words, “We’re going to live in different houses” spun in her head like a broken lullaby.
Different houses?
Different beds?
Different everything?
She didn’t understand how something that had always been normal could suddenly vanish like smoke.
Her mind raced. Did it mean she had to choose? Did it mean one of them didn’t want her anymore?
She burst through the school’s back door and out into the dim hallway. The sky was getting darker, painted gold and lavender. From the wind
