“She looks exhausted.”
I nodded. “I’ll talk to her. Gently this time, I promise.”
“Should we call someone? She needs… help, right?”
Over the weekend, I tried to find out more information.
Sam shrugged. “She doesn’t talk about home, Mom. She just says that her dad’s working a lot. And sometimes the power gets cut for a few days at a time. She pretends it’s fine, but she’s always hungry… and tired.”
That Monday, Lizie arrived looking even paler. As she pulled out her homework, her backpack tumbled from the chair and burst open.
I tried to find out more information.
Papers fluttered across the floor — crumpled bills, an envelope of coins, and a shutoff notice with “FINAL WARNING” stamped in red. A battered notebook splayed open, pages scrawled with lists.
I knelt to help.
“EVICTION” glared at me in block letters. Beneath it, in neat handwriting: “What we take first if we get evicted.”
“Lizie…” I could barely get the words out. “What is this?”
She froze, lips pressed tight, her fingers twisting the hem of her hoodie.
“What we take first if we get evicted.”
Sam gasped behind me. “Lizie, you didn’t say it was this bad!”
Dan walked in, eyebrows furrowed. “What’s going on?” He glanced at the papers, then at me.
I held up the envelope. “Lizie, sweetheart, are you… Are you and your dad being put out of your home?”
She stared at the floor, hugging her backpack.
“My dad said not to tell anybody. He said it’s nobody’s business.”
