Page 45 of The Amendment

“Sort of.” She wrung her hands together in her lap.

“Sort of?”

“Coach asked me to start staying late with him for practices last year. I stayed for one, and he followed me into the locker room. He kept saying something about a tag on my leotard and how he needed to help me get it off.”

I was going to pass out. I was sure of it.

“Did he?”

“No,” she said quickly. “It was after Bailey had told me what he did to her. I was scared, and I told him you were waiting for me outside. After I told Bailey what happened, she was angry with him. That was when she decided to drop out of dance. I was too scared to tell you anything, so I stuck with it—”

“Oh, honey—”

“But then he started pulling me out of routines and criticizing me in front of everyone. He moved me to the back of every formation. I just thought it was going to keep getting worse.”

We were both crying then, and I pulled her into my chest. “You did the right thing. Do you hear me?” I cupped her face, drawing her away from me to meet her eyes. “Thank you for telling me. I’m so sorry you had to deal with that, but I promise you I’m going to handle it.”

“Mom, you can’t tell anyone.” If possible, her face went even paler. “If everyone knew what happened…well, you heard what Julie said about Bailey. The rumors are everywhere. I don’t want anyone talking about me. We dropped out of dance, we’re safe. Please just let it go. Please.”

“Maisy, I can’t do that. You’re safe, yes. But there are other girls out there who aren’t. Kids. Maybe girls who don’t have a parent to talk to. We have to report him. Bailey’s parents should know what’s happening. We need to get the police involved. I have an obligation to report this as a parent… You’re all just children.”

“No.”She looked horrified. “No, you can’t! Please! You said I could trust you!”

“You can trust me—”

“You said you wouldn’t tell—”

“I never said that. Let’s just take a breath—”

She stood, her arms at her sides. “I can’t believe you. You lied to me. I should’ve never told you. You’re going to ruin my life.”

“Maisy, please—” I reached for her, but she was already storming away.

“I’ll never tell you anything else if you do this,” she warned. “Bailey will never forgive me. Everyone will hate me. I thought I could trust you!”

“Sweetheart, that’s not true. No one will hate you. Please, wait. Let’s talk about this—”

But it was no use. She’d swung open the door and stormed out, and I was left reeling with everything I’d learned and had no clear path forward.

I remembered being Maisy’s age, remembered when everything felt like the end of the world, but this was so much bigger than anything I’d dealt with at this age.

I gripped my fists in front of me, staring at the empty doorway.

We’d trusted him.

We’d counted on him, and he’d betrayed us.

I wanted to kill him.

To make sure he’d never hurt anyone else.

I wanted to go back in time and kill him before he’d ever had the chance to step foot into my daughter’s life.

A sickly feeling washed over me as I watched Peter appear in the doorway. I knew from a single glance that he’d heard everything.

He nodded at me slowly, his eyes bloodshot and wild.

“They’re children, Peter. I know you haven’t made up your mind about what I proposed, but…this is a special circumstance. You heard her, she’ll never forgive us if we tell. We have to handle this.” My body trembled with rage, my breathing erratic. My vision tunneled as I struggled to focus on him. “I physically can’t breathe until he’s taken care of.”

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