At 2 P.M., I Walked Into My Parents’ Backyard Expecting To Pick Up My 8-

had decided to side with them.

I don’t know how long I kept pounding. Five minutes. Ten. My knuckles started to ache, but I didn’t stop. By the time I heard the distant wail of sirens, my throat was raw from yelling.

When the ambulance finally pulled up, paramedics rushed over, lifting Amelia onto a stretcher. One of them—a middle-aged man with tired continue reading …