"I don't know."
That sentence changed the tone.
She transferred me to Ava's group counselor, Marissa.
"Of course. Is everything okay?"
I explained the photo.
Then I texted it to the number she gave me.
There was a pause. A long one.
"Marissa?"
"I'm here."
"Please tell me I'm imagining this."
I explained the photo.
Another pause.
Then her voice changed.
"Are you sure Ava sent you this today?"
My stomach dropped.
"Yes."
"Okay..."
"Are you sure Ava sent you this today?"
"What does 'okay' mean?"
"That picture isn't from today. Maddie left camp last night."
"I know, that's why I called." I stood up from my desk. "Where's Ava?"
"She's safe."
"Where is she?"
"Where's Ava?"
"She's in the health cabin."
"What?"
"She reported an injury this morning. Nothing serious. She said she twisted her ankle and couldn't participate in activities."
I stared at the wall.
Ava's message was still open on my phone.
"She reported an injury this morning."
"She told me she just finished training."
"I understand, but..."
"No. I don't think you do. My daughter doesn't lie to me."
Marissa hesitated.
"Kids sometimes act differently when they're away from home."
"Can I speak to her?"
"Kids sometimes act differently when they're away from home."
"Let me check."
Thirty seconds later, Marissa came back.
"Ava doesn't want to come to the phone."
I felt something cold settle into my chest.
"Why?"
"Can I speak to her?"
"I really can't answer that."
***
I left work.
The camp was a little over an hour away. I spent the drive talking myself out of every terrible possibility my brain invented.
By the time I arrived, I had mostly accepted that Ava was physically safe.
That wasn't the same as believing everything was fine.
The camp was a little over an hour away.
Marissa met me outside the health cabin.
She was younger than I'd expected, maybe twenty-four or twenty-five.
"Ava is inside."
"How bad is her ankle?"
Marissa shifted her weight.
"How bad is her ankle?"
"The nurse didn't find any swelling."
I looked at her.
"Any bruising?"
"No."
Something strange was going on here.
"The nurse didn't find any swelling."
I went inside.
Ava was sitting on a narrow bed with her backpack beside her.
Her ankle wasn't wrapped.
She looked at me, and her entire face changed.
"Mom? What are you doing here?"
Ava was sitting on a narrow bed with her backpack beside her.
I sat across from her.
"Show me your ankle."
She froze.
I waited.
"Ava."
Her eyes dropped to the floor. That was the moment I knew my daughter was lying, but I could never have imagined why she was faking an injury.
"Mom? What are you doing here?"
"You weren't hurt."
Nothing.
