Silent Betrayal

I wasn’t supposed to be home until after seven. Dad gave me money for a movie,

but the theater was packed and I didn’t feel like waiting. I wanted my room.

So I came home early. The house was too quiet. Not peaceful—empty. Halfway up the stairs

I heard laughing. Not my mom’s normal polite laugh. This one sounded careless.

It was coming from my parents’ bedroom. I told myself not to look. I did anyway.

The door was cracked. My mom was sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing a red dress

I’d never seen before. A man stood in front of her, close enough that it made my stomach

drop. It was Mark. One of Dad’s friends. The guy who came to our parties,