The morning had felt strange from the moment Mindy woke up. The house was quiet, but not peaceful.
It was the kind of quiet that made every small sound feel too loud.
Doors closing.
Footsteps in another room. Water running through pipes. Nobody was shouting, yet tension sat in the air like smoke after a fire.
Mindy stayed in her room longer than she wanted to, trying to calm the nervous feeling in her chest.
Then a sharp knock hit her bedroom door.
Three quick taps. She opened it and found Luke standing there. He looked tired. Dark circles sat under his eyes, and his shoulders were stiff under his shirt.
He usually carried some warmth in the way he spoke to her, but not today. “Hey. Ken wants everyone in his study,” he said. His voice was flat and distant. “Ten minutes, okay.”
He
