“She got hysterical, lost her balance, and fell against the furniture.”
My breathing became shallow as I realized my father was rehearsing a false statement while I lay injured at his feet.
Aaron nodded slowly, accepting the instructions with the same unquestioning confidence he had shown throughout my childhood.
Then my father’s voice became unusually firm.
“Whatever happens when the police get here, Madison started it.”
I wanted to scream that the camera would prove otherwise, but the room began shifting strangely around me.
The last thing I heard before darkness overtook my vision was my father telling Aaron to remember their story.
Then, through the distant sound of approaching sirens, I heard a woman’s voice coming from beneath the coffee table.
“Officers are on their way, Madison, and we heard what your father just said.”
