By the time I woke the next morning, Anna was nowhere to be found.
The living room was still dim, the curtains were barely covering the pale morning light. Billy, Gracie, and I had slept on the thin comforter I bought yesterday because Anna had locked herself in the bedroom and I didn’t want to start another fight. I’d left a plate of spaghetti on the counter for her before we went to sleep, but I could already tell she hadn’t touched it.
I sighed and pushed myself to sit up.
Billy was sleeping by my side, his small fingers wrapped tightly around my arm as if afraid I might disappear if he let go. His face was scrunched up and I could see marks of tears drying on his cheeks.
My chest tightened.
“…Mom… Mom, please don’t leave me…” he whimpered in his sleep. “I’ll be a good boy. Please
