“Don’t gloat,” I snap. “Mom and Dad believe you. You could murder someone right in front of them and they’d still blame me. You can do no wrong. You won, alright? Just leave me alone.”Thea turns up her nose. “Don’t act all high and mighty, Esther. You are just jealous that I’m having Garnar’s baby.
“Did something happen?”“A lot of things,” I say. I listen closely, but I don’t hear any background noise behind him. Maybe he’s at home? Or is that too much to hope for? “Can we meet?”He doesn’t answer for a moment.Immediately, I feel like I’ve overstepped. “You know what? That’s a bad idea. I’m
Miles takes the paperwork off of his desk, straightens it, and then places it into one of the drawers.“You look stressed,” he says, eyes back on me. “I think you need a distraction before we talk.”“You can’t mean… here…” I say, disbelieving at first, but the fire in his eyes burns me from the insi
The couches in Miles’s office might look very flush, but it’s a ruse. The padding is hard as a rock. Even with the cushion of Miles around me, holding me as I rest against his chest, the parts of me that touch the cushion – my elbow, my thigh – might as well be sitting on concrete.We’re clothed eno
The next day at work, Kimberly calls me into my office as soon as I arrive. I hurry to leave my bag and coat at my desk and then do as she asks.“Congratulations,” she says when I come to stand in front of her desk. “That article you submitted about the rise in micro-plastics in our drinking water h
Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time I embarrassed myself in front of my father. This time feels different though, probably because we are already estranged.I hate fighting with my parents. I hate how Thea wedged so many divides into our family. They have always preferred Thea to me, but I was at
Thea looks the same age in this photo. It has to be recent. The other photos are much the same but from different angles. That’s more than I ever wanted to see of my sister so I return those to the envelope.So Thea has another lover. That she was willing to enter into an affair with a married man a
When I arrive to my parents’ house at 7pm on the dot, Davis opens the door, with time wearing a look of weariness.“This time you parents and Miss Thea are waiting in the dining room,” he tells me.Thea is here? Maybe my suspicions are correct.But already sitting in the dining room?I check my watc