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