I had heard stories about prom pranks.
Kids inviting someone as a joke.
Someone secretly filming the reaction.
A group waiting to laugh.
The thought of Tobin walking into that gym full of hope only to discover he’d been made into someone’s entertainment made my stomach hurt.
A few nights before prom, I tried to approach the subject carefully.
“Tobin, you know you could call me anytime that night, right? For any reason.”
He looked up from his laptop.
“Mom.”
“I’m just saying.”
“You think she’s going to embarrass me.”
There was no anger in his voice.
That somehow made it worse.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
He looked down at the screen for a moment.
Then he said something that stayed with me.
