I need to go to Miller's, but I can't bring myself to leave. I pace my room, fury driving my stomping steps around the end of my bed to the window and back again.
My phone vibrates. I check the message, expecting a hateful note from Dad, only to see Susan's smiling icon staring back at me.
I call, on impulse, sink to the edge of the bed, still shaking.
She answers right away. "Riley!" She sounds happy for once. "Sorry to bug you, honey. I just wanted to check in and see how you were."
I sob in frustration, hear her soothing croon on the other end of the line, gasp an apology. "I'm fine," I finally say, wiping my nose on the back of my hand before reaching for a tissue when I realize I'm a slimy mess. "It's just Dad."
She listens as I rage about him, up and pacing all over again. By th
