ost house was deafeni

foot throbbed, but the pain only fueled her anger. "After every

wn, Ma. She'll be back. Where's she gonna go? She's got no mone

unter. He didn't bother wiping it up. "She's just throwing a tan

They had to be right. Adeline was soft. She

Nobody calls her. Nobody texts her. We'll see h

ed back to the TV, the dinne

ore on, the house

ronia tried to quiet him with a bag of chips, but Leo threw them on the floor, screaming he wa

ealed. The leftover chicken sat out on the counter, attracti

, wanted to watch a movie. They fought over the remote

t the kitchen cabinets, throwing pots and pans onto the li

like sweat, garbag

stomach was churning. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Adeline was su

pered to herself, clutching h

smelled like pine ne

e cabin. It was small, weathered, half-hidden by overgr

ther, the only person in the family who

ute. No screaming. No breaking glass. Just th

nside was stale, dusty, but clean. She

sending a cloud of dust into the air. She opened every windo

. She swept the floors. She wiped down the counters.

er back. But with every stroke of the broom, with ever

rolled her sleeping bag on the bed. She made

chair sat there, waiting. She sat down,

s out here. The stars were blinding. Millions of th

ssed calls. No texts. The Frost

ing every joint account and supplementary card. The last call was to the credit card company. "Yes," she sai

he phone off

tter and sweet. She closed her eyes,

three years, she was

was