“DAD… MY BACK HU.RTS SO BAD I CAN’T SLEEP. MOM TOLD ME NOT TO TELL YOU.”

has it hurt?”

“Since yesterday.”

“Did you tell your mom it still hurt?”

A small nod.

“What did she say?”

Sophie swallowed. “She said I was being dramatic.”

Those words hit harder than anything else.

“Can you show me your back?” I asked gently.

She hesitated… then slowly turned around and lifted her shirt.

And the world went white at the edges.

The bruise was continue reading …