Chapter 2

The people at the dinner table treated me like I was invisible. The three of them chatted and laughed, looking like the picture of a happy family.

In the past, I would have tried hard to join their conversation, but today I did nothing.

“I’m done eating,” I said, casually wiping my hands on a napkin. “Which room am I staying in?”

Mom looked startled for a moment before responding.

“The other rooms haven’t been set up yet.”

“Aria, don’t blame Mom and Dad. They’ve been so busy lately they can barely keep up with everything,” Bella said, acting protective of our parents while subtly implying I was being unreasonable. She had done this many times before.

I countered, “Did I say I blamed them?”

I gently put down the hand towel and said flatly, “Then I’ll just pick an empty room. Enjoy your meal.”

As I slowly walked upstairs, I could hear my parents’ conversation.

“Where did she get this prickly attitude from? Bella, don’t take it to heart. Here, have some of the pigeon soup I made - you haven’t tried it yet!”

Bella went along with it. “My sister’s probably just shaken up by what happened.”

Mom disagreed. “What does she have to be shaken up about? She came back just fine, didn’t she?”

…

I closed the bedroom door, shutting out their chatter.