She ended the call.
Yet the conversation left her tossing and turning that night. When she finally fell asleep late into the night, Aurelia appeared in her dreams with red-rimmed eyes, looking at her with heartbreaking disappointment. "Mommy, why didn't you come to my parent-teacher meeting?"
Scarlett jolted awake. She reached for the phone beside her and saw that it was 4 am.
A message popped up.
Aurelia: Mommy, are you really not coming to my parent-teacher meeting?
Scarlett checked the timestamp. It had arrived about 15 minutes earlier. She immediately sat up and called Aurelia. He picked up on the first ring.
A strange ache tightened in Scarlett's chest as she heard Aurelia's steady breathing on the other end.
"Aurelia?" Scarlett called softly.
"Mommy." Aurelia sounded listless
