womanlylive.com My Daughter Came Home from Prom Alone, Wearing a Boy’s Hoodie Instead of Her Dress – Then a Message Flashed Across Her Phone
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Maddie.”
She scrolled farther.
“Oh.”
“What?”
She looked at me.
“Tyler texted him.”
“Tyler told Eli where you were?”
She nodded.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“What does it say?”
She hesitated, then turned the phone toward me.
Eli had written, “Tyler told me you were outside. He asked if I could make sure you got home.”
For half a second, relief washed through me.
Tyler had at least tried to make sure she was safe.
Then Maddie scrolled.
There was a screenshot of Tyler’s actual message to Eli.
“She’s outside crying again. Can you deal with her? I’m not leaving because she decided to ruin the night.”
I read it twice.
“Deal with her?”
Maddie took the phone.
“I guess that’s me.”
“No.”
“It’s fine.”
“No, Maddie. Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Say something is fine because you don’t want anybody knowing it hurt.”
Her face crumpled.
She turned away, but I moved beside her and wrapped my arms around her.
This time she let me.
“He went back inside?” I asked.
She nodded.
“He knew you were out there?”
Another nod.
“And sent Eli.”
“Yes.”
That changed everything.
Tyler hadn’t simply walked away in anger.
He knew exactly where Maddie was. He knew she was crying.
