I took the stairs two at a time and found him in his room, sitting on the floor beside his bed.
There was vomit on his shirt and tears on his face.
“I called for them,” he whispered.
“I called and called… but they did not come.”
Rage surged through me. I stood, lifting Jacob with me.
“Let’s get you cleaned up first, okay?”
I got him into the bathroom, helped him out of his soiled clothes, and wiped his face with a cool cloth. He was shaking.
“Where are they, Mom?”
“I don’t know, baby. But I’m going to find out.”
I got Jacob settled in clean pajamas and back into bed with a bucket beside him.
I found Kyra in the backyard garden, lounging on one of the patio chairs with her phone glued to her hand. Mattie was in the kitchen, casually putting something in the microwave.
“Where the hell were you?” I yelled, my voice shaking.
Kyra looked up, startled. “Mom?
You were supposed to be at the…”
“Jacob was calling for you. He threw up. He was crying.
He texted me because neither of you bothered to check.”
Mattie walked in from the kitchen. “We were here the whole time.”
“I did not hear him,” Kyra said defensively. “I was down here.”
“And I was using the blender,” Mattie added.
“The kitchen appliances were loud. I could not hear anything.”
I stared at them. “You could not hear him?
He was screaming for you.”Continue reading…
