Chapter 14

Amelia saw her daughter standing by the entrance of the hallway, leaning lazily against the wall with her arms folded across her chest. There was a sneer on Hazel’s lips, not loud or dramatic, but sharp enough to sting. Hazel wasn’t smiling because she found anything funny, no, she was smiling because she already knew the answer to the question she had asked, and she was waiting for her mother to admit it.

But Amelia said nothing.

She only sighed and turned back to her phone, her thumb hovering over the screen as though staring at it long enough might force it to come alive. Hazel already knew what was wrong, didn’t she? Of course she did. Hazel always knew.

Oh God. Charles.

Hazel scoffed softly and pushed herself off the wall. She walked over and dropped onto the couch beside her mother, close enough that Amelia could feel her presence, close enough that silence wasn’t an option anymore.

“You know,” Hazel began, her voice low and controlled, “you shoul