Scarlet
Monday arrived like a storm cloud on the horizon, thick with the kind of tension that made my skin crawl.
I woke up before my alarm, my body restless and on edge, like my instincts knew something was coming before my mind could catch up. The air in the house was heavy, thick with unspoken words. I could feel it the second I stepped out of my room, like walking straight into an invisible wall.
My parents had been gone all of Sunday.
Not a single word about where they had gone or why.
And when they had finally returned late in the evening, their faces were unreadable—tired, worn, but holding something back. A secret pressed tightly between them.
I had tried to ask.
“Where were you?”
“We handled it.”
“Handled what?”
“There’s nothing to worry about tomorrow.”
That was it. Th
