Page 94 of When You Left Me Speechless

She rushes to stand, wiping her face with her hands. “Oh, um, hi, Mr. Peterson. What are you doing here?”

“I live here. I guess we are neighbors now.” I gesture at our two doors. “Are your parents home?”

“No.” She fidgets nervously. I notice her book bag is at her feet. “I, um, well, my mom gave me a key this morning so I could get in, and I can’t find it.” She starts crying again. “I don’t know when she’ll be home.” For a split second, I don’t see ten-year-old Abby Grace Wilson standing across the hall from me. I see ten-year-old me.

“Do you have a cell phone?”

She nods her head and looks down at her shoes. “Yes, sir, but it’s dead.”

“Would you like to use mine to call your dad, maybe?”

Her face falls a little more and she starts to cry harder.Shit.Through sobs, she manages to say, “He doesn’t want me to call him. He moved away. That’s why we had to move here. He doesn’t want us anymore.”

I had been so distracted by running into Abby’s mother that I never stopped to wonder why they were moving into my apartment complex. I mean, it’s a nice place, but it’s not a place where people live that spend their time vacationing in Paris and London throughout the year.

“Then maybe your mom? Do you know her number?” She nods as I pull out my phone.

The phone rings three times, and I hear Mrs. Wilson’s shrill voice on the other end of the line. “Hello.”

“Mrs. Wilson?”

“Yes, who is calling?”

“Oh, hello, ma’am, this is Logan Peterson, Abby’s teacher and I guess now your new neighbor.”

“Yes, I know who you are. What can I help you with? If this is about?—”

I don’t let her finish that sentence because as much as I want to tell her what I think about her, tell her she is completely upending my life, I can’t. I need to focus on the scared little girl in front of me that needs her mom.

“When I got home this afternoon, I found Abby Grace in the hallway. She seems to have misplaced her key and her phone is dead. She is very upset.”

Her tone changes immediately, and I hear her frantically packing her things in the background. “Oh no, I knew I should have left a spare. I can be there in twenty minutes. I just need to let my boss know I’m leaving. Would you mind waiting with her? She is going through a lot right now, and oh my, poor thing.”

“Of course, we will be waiting by your door when you get here. See you soon.” She hangs up and I turn back to Abby. “She’s on her way.” She offers me a smile and sits back down on the floor of the hall.

“So, do you have homework tonight?” I ask, sitting beside her. “Maybe we could start it while waiting for your mom?” She gives me a small smile, reaches into her book bag, and brings out a math worksheet.

We sit in silence while she works on her homework. I check my watch nervously, hoping her mother will arrive soon.

“Mr. Peterson?”

“Yep, what’s up, kid? Need help?”

“Oh, no, why weren’t you at school today? Are you sick?”Her question makes me freeze. How exactly do I tell a ten-year-old her mother caught me with Ms. Collins, and I was asked not to come back to work until they decide whether or not I’m allowed to remain her teacher?

“Um, well?—”

The elevator doors open, and Mrs. Wilson sprints off in our direction, saving me from whatever I was about to say.

“Oh, Abby, honey. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” She grabs her daughter up from the floor and pulls her in for a tight hug.

“I’m fine, Mom.” Abby rolls her eyes as if she wasn’t just sobbing thirty minutes ago when I found her. “Mr. Peterson helped me get started on my homework.”

Mrs. Wilson is not as put together as the last I saw her. Her shirt is slightly wrinkled. There are noticeable dark circles under her eyes. She has more than a few hairs out of place. She unlocks the door to their apartment, and I can see boxes piled up.

“Go put your things down, sweetheart, and grab a snack. We need to go pick up your brothers from practice.” Abby offers me a wave before bouncing through the door. I turn to head towards my door when Mrs. Wilson stops me.

“Thank you for calling me, Mr. Peterson. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t found her.” A hint of tears well in her eyes and almost makes me forget she completely blew up my life a few days ago.

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