Sienna’s legs felt unsteady as she walked into the kitchen.
Her mother stood at the counter with two mugs of coffee, the steam rising between them. She did not smile. She simply gestured to the chair across from her.
“Sit.”
Sienna sat. Her pulse hammered in her throat. Every possible worst-case scenario raced through her mind. The open study door. The sounds. The look on her mother’s face earlier.
Her mother slid one of the mugs toward her and sat down. For a long moment she just studied Sienna’s face in silence.
“You’ve been different since I came back,” she said finally. “Quiet. Distracted. Jumping at every little sound.”
Sienna forced her voice to stay steady. “I’ve just been tired.”
“Tired.” Her mother repeated the word slowly. “Is that all?”
The question hung in the air. Sienn
