“Sweetheart, that’s not true,” I said softly. “We care. But we can’t help you if you don’t tell us what’s going on.”
“Lizie, you didn’t say it was this bad!”
She shook her head, tears welling. “He says if people know, they’ll look at us different. Like we’re begging.”
Dan crouched beside us. “Is there anywhere else you can stay, hon? An aunt or a friend?”
Lizie shook her head harder. “We tried my aunt… but she has four kids in a tiny house. There just wasn’t any room.”
Sam squeezed her hand. “You don’t have to hide this. We’ll figure something out together.”
I nodded. “You’re not alone, Lizie. We’re in this now.”
She hesitated, glancing at her phone — a thin crack ran along the screen.
“He says if people know, they’ll look at us different.”
“Should I… should I call my dad?” she asked. “But he’ll be mad I told.”
“Let me talk to him,” I said gently. “We just want to help, that’s all.”
A tense silence followed as Lizie dialed.
We waited. I made coffee, and Dan put away the dishes.
My stomach continued to churn.
Half an hour, the doorbell rang.
“Should I… should I call my dad?”
Lizie’s dad stepped inside, exhaustion etched in every line of his face. There were oil stains on his jeans, dark circles under his eyes, yet still, he tried to smile.
“Thanks for feeding my daughter,” he said, reaching out to shake Dan’s hand. “I’m Paul. Sorry for the trouble.”
I shook my head. “I’m Helena, and this has been no trouble at all, Paul. But Lizie’s carrying too much. She’s a child.”
He glanced at the bills, jaw tightening. “She had no right to bring that here.” Then his face crumpled. “I just… I thought I could fix it. If I worked more…”
“Sorry for the trouble.”
“She brought it here because she’s scared,” Dan said. “And because no kid should be carrying this alone.”
Paul ran a hand through his hair, defeated. “After her mom died, I promised I’d keep her safe. I didn’t want her to see me fail.”
“She needs more than promises, Paul,” Dan said. “She needs food, sleep, and the chance to just be a kid.”
He nodded, finally breaking. “What now?”
