“Emily hasn’t been in class all week,” her teacher told me. That made no sense — I watched my daughter leave every morning. So I followed her. When she stepped off the bus and got into a pickup truck instead of going inside, my heart stopped. When the truck pulled away, I drove after them. I never thought I’d be the kind of mother who follows her child, but when I discovered she’d been lying to me, that’s exactly what I did. Emily is 14. Her dad, Mark, and I split up years ago. He’s the guy who remembers your favorite ice cream but forgets to sign permission slips or book appointments. Mark is all heart but no organization, and I couldn’t carry it all by myself anymore.
I thought Emily had adjusted well. But the terrible teens have a way of bringing problems to the surface.
I discovered she’d been lying to me.
Emily seemed like her usual self. She was a bit quieter, maybe a little more glued to her phone than usual, a bit overly fond of wearing oversized hoodies that covered half her face, but nothing that screamed “crisis.” She left for school every morning at 7:30 a.m. Her grades were good, and when I asked how school was going, she always said it was fine.
Then I got a phone call from the school.
When I asked how school was going, she always said it was fine.
Read Part 2 Here: [Part 2] My Daughter ‘Went to School’ Every Morning – Then Her Teacher Called and Said She’d Been Skipping for a Whole Week, So I Followed Her the Next Morning
