's

the best sound I

illed with the scraping of chairs and the noise of students spilling into the corridors.

hallway. She jogged to my side, slightly out of breath, her bag

at small,"

her arm through mine before I could protest

wn, but she was already pulling me along an

out of breath and carrying what looked like thre

going to leave withou

aited two minut

s is a long

smiling witho

z, about how Marcus had somehow charmed his way out of a second detention, about a series she had been watching that she was convinced I needed to see. I mostly lis

e to perform or explain myself. Who just talked, and

but not u

to our street. The evening air was cooler than I ex

asked when we reached the

id, and I al

far more exciting than sure, waved,

than necessary, staring at nothing in partic

..

sn't ho

ust waiting. I dropped my bag by the stairs, went to the kitchen and started on

h chopping onions wh

fr

. I wiped my hands on a dish towel and went to the window firs

londe hair and a foil-covered dish balanced in both hands. And behind them, h

he curt

bell ran

sn't back yet. They were just neighbours. Lia had been n

ed the

e smile. "I told you she'd answer,

the time in the world. "I'm Sandra, Lia's mom. I wanted to come say welcome to the n

here was something about her a kind of st

taking it carefully

ightly as he came through the doorway even though he didn't need to,

ling onto the sofa like she'd bee

hair and said nothing. H

Lia whispered, appe

ing to the front window every few minutes without meanin

ay?" Lia as

my brother should be home

the sofa, as if she had heard. "I just

t the neighbourhood, about school, about a neighbour down the road who apparently had the b

small decorative stone from the side table and was turning

he came

front doo

mach d

e, and stopped when he saw the ro

le second, n

Mark

t reach

asant. He looked at me just for a moment, just a flicker and in t

oat ti

to shake his hand. "I hope you don't mind I wanted t

led anyone who didn't know him. "That's very kind. I'm Mark, Amy's brother

nephew," Sandra s

the conversation like he had been there all along. Asked Sandra how long she h

om him and coul

way you glance at a piece of furniture, I felt the weigh

s watc

rence to something quieter, more focused. Like he had caught something in my fa

gracious to the very end. Lia squeezed my arm on the way past and mouthed see you tomorrow. Leo said nothing

osed th

f his face like it h

d very

he said, "I'm ordering food. You don't n

like

o belt pulled from

I didn't trust the quiet, or his even tone, or the fact that nothing had happened. With Mark, nothing happeni

I didn't know

the stove, and sat at the table. I pe

dle, slightly crisp at the edges the

tried not to think about how long it had been sinc

llen asleep whe

. Slow and

against my ribs. The room was dark. The takeout boxes were still on the c

my

es to my chest

ned, then the

t. But the lock on my door had never been something

pped i

e out small and cracked bu

at me in the dark. Then so

the room in

still, and pretending I was somewhere else and I couldn't do that tonight, not after Sandra's cookies and Lia'

fou