I looked at Melissa.
She held up both hands.
“Before you get mad at me, Ryan told me to come.”
“What?”
“He called this morning. He said you two had changed the arrangement.”
My stomach dropped.
“We did not.”
Melissa blinked.
“What do you mean?”
The principal continued carefully.
“Ms. Melissa arrived first and told our staff that Emma’s father had asked her to collect Emma today.”
Emma tightened her grip around me.
“She told me Daddy said I had to go with her.”
Melissa looked miserable.
“That’s what Ryan told me.”
The principal nodded toward Travis.
“Shortly afterward, Mr. Travis arrived as usual. Because he remained on the approved pickup list and we had received no formal change from you, staff weren’t comfortable releasing Emma until we could confirm the situation.”
Travis finally spoke.
“So I told them to call you.”
I turned toward Melissa.
“Ryan told you I agreed to this?”
“Yes.”
Her face softened.
“I swear I thought you knew.”
Anger rose through me so quickly that it almost pushed the fear aside.
Ryan hadn’t simply disagreed with me.
He had gone around me.
He had lied to his sister.
He had changed our daughter’s routine without saying a word.
And he had left Emma standing at school surrounded by adults giving her conflicting instructions.
Then Emma tugged gently at my sleeve.
“I wanted to wait for Travis.”
I looked down.
“That’s okay.”
She stared at the floor.
Then she whispered, “I trust Travis.”
A pause.
“But I don’t trust Daddy anymore.”
Everything stopped.
The principal.
Melissa.
Travis.
Me.
“What did you say?”
Emma’s eyes filled with tears.
“I don’t trust Daddy.”
I looked toward Travis.
Something in his expression changed.
He knew why.
And suddenly, the situation was no longer about who had arrived to collect Emma.
It was about what had happened before that afternoon.
“Travis,” I said, “what does she mean?”
His eyes moved toward Emma.
“You should talk to Ryan.”
“No.”
He frowned.
“No?”
“If you know something involving my daughter, I want to know.”
