“Lydia Miller, you are under arrest for child endangerment and abandonment,” the officer panted, hauling her to her feet.

As they dragged her out the door, she twisted her head to look at me. Her hair was wild, her makeup smeared across her face like a mask.

“Savannah!” she screamed, her voice echoing down the quiet suburban street. “You ruined this family! They’re going to hate you! They’re going to grow up and hate you for what you did today!”

I stood on the porch and watched the squad car door slam on her furious, screaming face. The sirens rose and faded into the distance.

My father sat on the porch steps with his head in his hands, answering a different officer’s questions about his work schedule, desperately trying to save his own skin.

I looked down at my hands. They weren’t trembling anymore.