I was playing in the living room when dad got home that evening. He was only half an hour behind mom and me. He quickly shut the front door, calling for mom as he did so.

He glanced at me before ushering mom back into the kitchen. Seconds later, the back door shut. I knew whatever it was they had to talk about didn't involve me. Or they didn't want it to involve me.

I quickly got to my feet and ran up the steps. I went into my bedroom and slowly unlocked and opened the window. I could hear mom and dad talking below. I stayed out of view so they wouldn't know I was eavesdropping.

Normally, I didn't listen in on their conversations. Back at our old home, I was told anything important and anything that wasn't, I was left out of. Here, I was never told anything.

"Joyce, this isn't normal. I knew when we got here that something was off." Dad said, using a hushed tone of voice.

"Brian, we don't have a choice. We don't have anything to go back to. The house is sold and Lyla..."

"She doesn't need to know about this until it's over."

"She's already adjusted to our life here. How is she ever going to go back to the way things were before we moved here?"

"She's a tough girl, Joyce. I think she'll be okay."

Mom sighed. "What are we going to do?"

"Take all our money out of the bank. Maybe leave enough that it isn't suspicious. I don't want anyone to think we're leaving town. We'll figure something out after that."

"Alright. I'll take care of that on my way to work. I don't want Lyla there when I'm withdrawing the money."

"Let's get inside before she notices we're gone."

I quickly shut the window. I grabbed my baby doll and headed out of my bedroom. I got to the top of the steps and stopped, seeing dad at the bottom.

He raised his eyebrows when he saw me. "Lyla, what are you doing up there?"

I didn't want him to know I was listening in on his conversation with mom so I lied. And I laid it on thick, too. "My bunny wanted to play with my baby. Do you wanna play too, daddy?"

He started walking up the steps, his footsteps heavy. "Let me change out of my work clothes first."

I grinned.

He lifted the back of my dress and pulled my diaper back. "And I think a certain little girl needs changed, also."

I followed him to his room and sat down on the bed.

"Did you have a good day at school?" He asked as he set a clean diaper and a pack of wipes on the bed.

I laid back, putting my baby doll beside me. I had to make him think that everything was fine. That I was fine and didn't suspect things were going to change. Even though I was pretty excited about it. "I made a friend today."

"Did you? That's great, Lyla."

I sat up on my elbows. "Do you think she could come over and play one day?"

He frowned, not looking up at me when he spoke. "I'll talk to mom about it, alright?"

"Okay."

He taped my diaper up then pulled my dress down. "Why don't you go downstairs and wait for me? I'll only be a minute."

I sat up and slid to the side of the bed. "Okay." I walked out of the room with my baby doll dangling at my side. I stopped in the hallway and glanced back at dad.

He sat on the edge of the bed and put his arms on his knees, rubbing his face. He looked tired. Stressed. He had a lot to deal with so I wasn't at all surprised that he was feeling this way. I just wished things weren't so bad for us.