t. I called in sick, my voice hoarse, which wasn't a lie
adn't wanted – old towels, a chipped mug, a stack of my firefighting manuals.
eyes, Eric's dismissive scoff, my mother's
e myself smaller, quieter, less demanding, hoping fo
relief quickly fading into a kind of weary obligation. C
ne I'd carried for so long, fel
artment headquarters later that afternoon. H
e you doing here?
said, keeping my voice steady. "Abou
d you, all necessary precautions were taken. It was a chaotic
hat Chloe's distress was prioritized o
nt girl who was terrified. Your brother and I did what we had to do to ensure her well
ing treated as a burden, coalesced into a single, sharp point of pain.
y voice dangerously quiet. "I
cuss this further. You're being insubordinate and unprofes
without the filter of a daughter's hope. I saw a man who cared mor
to him. No hope for understa
went straight to the Internal
rprisingly steady, detailing everything – the withheld warning, the compr
. I had sev