Chapter 2

Belle’s college send-off party brimmed with excitement and celebration.

My mother kept piling food onto Belle’s plate.

I never received such a loving, proud smile on her face before.

“Look at Belle. She’s actually going somewhere. That’s how a kid should turn out!”

My father sat nearby. He ate mechanically without any appetite.

From time to time, his gaze kept wandering to the pitch-black window.

When he found the right opportunity, he said to my mother, “I wonder if Tristy has gotten out of that pond yet. I’m a little worried about her.”

My mother’s expression darkened when she heard this.

“Forget about her. She needs to learn this the hard way, or she’ll never learn. Without good education, she’ll never succeed in life.”

My father frowned and fell silent, but he was still worried.

He made an excuse to step out to the balcony for a cigarette, then quietly pulled out his phone and looked for Zoey’s number.

“Zoey, is Tristy—”

Before he could finish, my mother appeared behind him.

She snatched the phone from his hand and hung up immediately.

“What are you doing? Are you giving in that fast? If we let this slide, she’ll only get worse. She’ll walk all over you. Can you man up for once and be a father?”

My father looked at her fierce and unyielding expression. He opened his mouth to speak, but in the end, he only let out a weary sigh.

My soul floated in the air and watched their expressions. At that point, I felt nothing.

After all, to my mother, the only thing that counted was test scores. Nothing else ever mattered to her.

The next morning, my parents came home to an empty house.

“Where is she?”

My mother frowned and paced through the rooms.

She said irritably, “She must’ve flunked another test and got too embarrassed to come home. She’s probably hiding at some classmate’s house. This is just getting ridiculous!”

My father frowned and pulled out his phone to call me. He only got the automated message saying my phone was turned off.

He called several classmates I was relatively close with.

They all replied the same thing, either “I haven’t seen her,” or “She didn’t contact me”.

My father’s expression gradually darkened. He walked quickly next door and knocked on Zoey’s door.

“Tristy? No, I haven’t seen her. Wait, I thought you brought her back home already.”

My father felt agitated.

Did she... run away?

My mother paced back and forth in the living room.

Her voice grew louder as she said, “She’s been gone for a whole day and night! That’s so much catching up to do. It’s senior year! Every single day counts! Is she trying to give me a heart attack?!”

My father grabbed his coat, barely suppressing his pent-up anger.

“I’m heading out to find her. When she comes home, just... don’t scold her, alright? Talk to her nicely.”

My mother seemed to get even more upset by his words.

She yelled, “Talk to her nicely? This is why you’re such a pushover. Look what you’ve turned her into!

“If you had bothered to actually help her with her schoolwork instead of spending all your time out fishing, she wouldn’t be failing like this! Now, you want to play the good cop?”

He clenched his fists tightly.

They were one word away from a screaming match.

I subconsciously put my hands over my ears. In the past, they would argue for two hours.

To my surprise, my father held back.

He slammed the door shut and stepped outside. He walked toward the pond and lit a cigarette. His gaze drifted absently over the calm water’s surface.

His fingers holding the cigarette froze still. His eyes locked onto a certain spot.

He murmured to himself in a soft, hesitant voice, “She couldn’t be... down there at the bottom... could she?”