9.2

Kataya POV

It took Dad a while to come back. I was just falling asleep when he came with the food he promised me. Only it wasn’t what I was expecting. I assumed it would be the grilled cheese and tomato soup. Instead, it was a bowl of cereal.

My heart plummeted. Maybe I was getting used to being the odd one out, or perhaps I still held out hope that I would be important to him, but seeing a bowl of cereal made me sad. I tried not to sigh, but it came out anyway. Dad heard it and gave a sheepish grin. “Sorry kiddo, we’re out of a lot of things. So, this will have to do for now.”

That couldn’t have been true. I was sure there was food in the fridge and cupboards. Guess that was a lie. “Oh, I get it, daddy. If that’s all we have, that’s fine. I know the stores are all closed now.”

That didn’t explain why it took so long. Cereal takes a maximum of 3 minutes to make. And it includes g