Page 121 of After Anna

“Honey, I’m so sorry this happened. Do you want me to come over?”

“No, thanks. I want to keep things as normal as possible here. I feel so terrible about Anna.” Maggie felt tears coming back, but held them at bay. “She loses her father and reaches out to me and now look what happens. It’s so awful.”

“I know, but you can’t help that. You didn’t do it.”

“I brought her here. I thought everything would be so great.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Remember I met with her therapist? I told her how great everything was going to be. This is so shameful.”

“You didn’t know. You couldn’t know.”

“What if I should have? What if this has been happening with him for a long time? What if Anna isn’t the first and neither is Jordan? I’m afraid to look at his computer but believe me, I want to.”

“Don’t.”

“Why not? I know his passcodes. He has them on a pad.”

“What do you expect to find?”

“Pornography? Pictures of young girls? Emails?”

“Don’t, don’t, don’t.”

“What if he goes online and meets young girls?”

“If he does that, he’ll have deleted the history.”

“You believe her then.”

“I hate to say this, but I do.”

“I do too,” Maggie heard herself say, burying her face in her freehand. Agonized, she couldn’t speak for a minute. She didn’t know if Noah had committed a crime or not. She wondered if she needed a lawyer. She wondered if she should call the police. She would handle this the best way for Anna. That was her job as Anna’s mother, especially because she had let her down before.

“You still there? I should come over.”

“No, really.” Maggie’s mind reeled. “How can I stay married to him?”

“Honey, you’re going to have to take it a step at a time. If he wants to stay married to you, he’s going to have to do what you say.”

“Right.” Maggie told herself to take control of the situation. She couldn’t let it victimize her. Anna was the victim, after all.

“You can do it.”

“Can you believe he would do this? To Anna? To me? To this family? He’s destroying everything,everything.”

“He’ll figure it out, with professional help.”

Maggie sighed. “I feel so tired.”

“Go to bed. Call me if you need anything.”

“I will. Thanks for everything. Love you, Kath.”

“Love you too, honey. We’ll get through this. Sleep tight.”

“You, too.” Maggie pressed End, sat up, and glanced back at the house. The light was still off in Anna’s bedroom. Caleb’s light was off as well, so the second floor of the house was dark, the roof a shadowy outline against a dark sky. Clouds covered the moon, and there wasn’t a star in sight. Ambient light from the neighboring houses made a hazy glow in the air, and Maggie could hear televisions playing in other people’s family rooms.