I still hear my own terrified whisper begging the 911 dispatcher to hurry, because I was certain the sudden silence downstairs meant I’d just lost my mom forever.

The day started like any other.

I walked to school with Mia, laughing about something silly our teacher had said the day before. We went to class, we did math, we ate lunch in the cafeteria.

School ended at three.

I walked out the front doors, looking for Mom. She was supposed to pick me up today, because Ethan had a doctor’s appointment.

That’s when I saw him.

He was leaning against the fence across the street, wearing a hoodie, his hands in his pockets.

Dad.

My blood ran cold.

He saw me. He pushed off the fence, and started walking toward me.

“Chloe,” he called.

I froze.

For a second, I was nine years old again, hiding in that closet, my phone shaking in my hand. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.

Then I remembered.

The no-contact order. The police. Mom’s promise that we were safe.

I turned and ran back into the school, straight to the office.

The secretary looked up, surprised, when I burst through the door.

“Please,” I gasped, out of breath. “My dad is outside. He’s not supposed to be here. Call the police.”

She didn’t hesitate. She picked up the phone, dialed 911, and led me to a small room in the back, closing the door behind us.

She gave me a cup of water, and sat with me, talking soft, until the cops got there.

Officer Hayes was one of them.

She knelt down in front of me, her face tight with worry.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

I nodded, my hands still shaking. “He was outside. By the fence. He called my name.”

She stood up, her jaw set. “We’ll get him.”

They arrested him ten minutes later, three blocks from the school.

He tried to say he was just “passing through,” that he didn’t know I went to school there. But the police found a piece of paper in his pocket with the school’s address on it, and a photo of me and Ethan that he’d taken from our old house.

Mom picked me up from the school, her face white with fear.

She held me so tight in the car I could barely breathe.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, over and over. “I should’ve been there earlier. I never should’ve let you walk out alone.”

“It’s not your fault,” I said, my voice small.

That night, I slept in Mom’s bed.

Ethan climbed in with us, bringing his favorite stuffed bear, and we all curled up together.

I didn’t sleep much. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Dad leaning against that fence, calling my name.

Officer Hayes came over the next morning.

She brought me a stuffed rabbit, soft and brown, with a little blue bow around its neck.

“David’s being charged with felony violation of the restraining order,” she said, sitting at our kitchen table. “And stalking. The judge denied bail. He’s not getting out before trial, not this time. If he’s convicted, he’ll get at least five more years, on top of whatever he gets for the assault charges.”

Mom let out a breath.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice thick.

Officer Hayes looked at me.

“He can’t hurt you,” she said, firm. “We’re not gonna let him.”

I nodded, holding the stuffed rabbit tight.

I was scared.

But I was also angry.

Angry that Dad thought he could just show up, that he thought he could take my new life away from me.

Angry that he still thought he had any right to us.

That night, I looked out the kitchen window at the backyard.

The sunflowers were taller now, almost as tall as Ethan. Their buds were tight, almost ready to bloom.

I thought about what Officer Hayes had said.