PART 19 – I Could No Longer Pretend This Was a Family Disagreement, Because My Daughter’s Life Had Never Been Something We Could Negotiate

There had been many arguments in my family.

Most of them had followed the same pattern.

Trey did something.

My parents defended him.

I questioned their judgment.

Then someone accused me of making the situation worse.

Usually, I eventually walked away.

I had learned that arguing with my parents rarely changed anything.

But this was not one of those arguments.

There was no misunderstanding to settle.

There was no family pride worth protecting.

There was no reason to wait for everyone to agree.

Cassie had fallen from a jet ski.

She had been without her life jacket.

Trey had returned without her.

And he had been unable to give me a precise location.

Those were the facts.

I had reported them.

I had given my nephew the phone.

I had entered the water.

I had done what I could.

I thought about how my parents might describe the situation later.

I wondered whether they would still call it a rough patch.

I wondered whether they would still insist that Trey meant no harm.

But those questions belonged to another time.

Right then, I needed to find my daughter.

I kept searching.

The water moved beneath me.

I looked in every direction I could manage.

I wanted to see something familiar.

I wanted to recognize the pink swimsuit.

I wanted to find the little girl who had trusted me to keep her safe.

I called her name.

Then I waited.

There was no answer.

I tried again.

I wasn't ready to stop.

Click here to continue reading: PART 20: The Promise I Made Beside the Water Was the One Thing I Could Not Take Back, Even When Everything Else Had Changed