Linda crossed her arms.
“Oh my God!”
I ignored her.
She laughed.
Who are you calling?
The police because someone hurt your feelings?
I looked at her.
“No.”
Then I pressed my father’s name.
Daniel suddenly stood up.
“Sarah, don’t do it.”
It was the first time all night that I heard real fear in her voice.
My father answered on the second ring.
“Sarah?”
I tried to regulate my breathing.
“Dad.”
His tone changed immediately.
“What’s happening?”
I looked around the table.
In Linda.
In Melissa.
In Robert.
To the people who had seen me get slapped and hadn’t done anything.
“You told me to call you if Daniel’s family ever crossed the line.”
Silence.
Then my father asked a question.
Are you still inside the Harrington house?
I swallowed.
“Yeah.”
Daniel paled.
Linda’s smile disappeared.
And my father said, very quietly:
“Put me on speakerphone.”
