My mom disappeared when I was 12

Now.”

I don’t trust him. But I look at my grandma’s lifeless body, at the trunk still open upstairs, and I know one thing for sure—I can’t stay here.

We leave through the back door. He drives a beat-up gray sedan with no plates. I sit in the passenger seat, gripping the journal like it’s the only thing tethering me to reality.

As we speed down the highway,continue reading …