The very next day, I got a call from the local police station. They told me to come pick someone up.
It was Kevin.
When I saw him at the police station, I barely recognized him.
Just one short month had passed, and he’d wasted away to almost nothing. His clothes were caked in grime, and his eyes held a hollow, terrified glaze.
The second he saw me, he didn’t go running to me like he always used to. Instead, he flinched back and scurried to hide behind a female officer.
"Mommy..." he whispered the word so quietly it was barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz.
My heart twisted sharply in my chest, but I kept my face completely smooth and calm. "Where’s Gareth?"
The female officer sighed. "He’s in the hospital. He broke his leg, and nobody’s paid his medical bill. This little guy cried a
