Her toddler started crying immediately.
Wren stared at me.
She did not smile.
She looked embarrassed.
That hurt worse than the shouting.
Sylas came in last, dragging two garbage bags behind him.
Mr. Gideon lifted his cane and blocked the hallway.
“Shoes off,” he said.
Sylas blinked. “Excuse me?”
“This is a house,” Mr. Gideon said. “Not a barn.”
Sylas looked at my mother as if expecting her to defend him.
She ignored it.
Her eyes were locked on me.
“Well,” she said. “Are you just going to stand there?”
I looked at the children.
Then at the bags.
Then at my sister’s exhausted face.
My chest went tight.
“What happened?” I asked.
Elowen opened her mouth, but my mother answered first.
“They were put out.”
I stared at her.
“You said they were facing eviction. I thought they still had time.”
“They did,” Maura said. “Until Sylas got into an argument with the property manager.”
