of the fancy pastries he used to buy for me filled the air. It wa

voice attempting a gentleness that onl

back to him and continuing to wipe

don't be l

oice cut in. "Auntie Eleanor, you should eat so

o call me that. It felt like a mockery, a label for a role I was never t

aniel, her small frame making her look fragile and chi

a lot more, Olivia,"

ith tears. It was a practiced move. Da

, that's

e and held it up to Daniel's lips. "Uncle Daniel, you eat first. You

ace. It was such an intimate gesture, a casual display of possession on her part and acceptance on hi

ce dangerously quiet, "I t

ear them whispering behind me. I pulled the coffee grounds from the cupboard, my

er of flour overturned on the floor, a white cloud dusting

just trying to help, and

down to brush the flour off her clothes. "It's

he floor, his brow furrowed with annoyance. "Eleanor, can't you see s

s I had cleaned up her messes, both literal and figurative? After all the times

a rage I could no longer contain. "She's not a child. She

ts died in that car crash, have you forgotten? She's been thr

e-altering event for Olivia. But he used it as a shield, a permanent justification for her behavior and a weapon agains

, bone-deep weariness. I had heard this speech a thousand times. I had

y last shift," I said, my v

loor. "Eleanor, wait. Let's talk about this later. After your shift, we'll figure it all out. I prom

llection of them, stored away in the empty corners of my heart. I looked at him, at the man I h

id again, grabbing m

l, piercing sound filled the apartment. The

nal turmoil, the anger, the exhaustion-it

second. There was no time for goodbyes, no time

airs, the sound of the alarm pulling me toward the fire