This conversation feels like it’s been going on for ages. Jorge chooses to have the talk with Sophie and me that night while Amy is in the bedroom, putting Ellie to sleep. From the moment he started talking, I wanted to ask him to stop—I wanted to tell him that we understood, that we were gonna be more careful from now on. I just wasn’t brave enough to interrupt him, so in the end I had to let him say all the things he had planned.

“Thanks, guys,” he says finally, and I feel my chest deflating. At least this is over.

Later, after we turn off the lights and we’re about to go to sleep, Sophie turns toward me.

“Is it because of me?” she asks.

“You heard what Uncle Jorge said—it’s not just you,” I tell her. “But we can help each other out. We’ll make sure we’re always cleaning up after ourselves.”

Even as I tell my sister not to worry, I feel a wave of anxiety sweeping through my body. Earlier, I noticed that the doorframe in the bathroom looked a little crooked. Amy must’ve banged the door shut in frustration, which is what caused the loud bang that woke us up.

For the rest of the week, the air in the apartment feels a little more tense than usual. Even though Amy pretends that everything’s okay, I see right through the act she’s trying to put on. I’m reminded of the reasons Ma used to say that Amy made her think of a robot—her slow, calculated movements, her way of speaking in a monotone, the way her eyes don’t light up even when she smiles.

And so I do everything I can to keep her happy. At night, Sophie takes a shower before me. She does a pretty good job at drying the floor with the mat, but I still do another sweep of the bathroom after I’m done showering. I look in every last corner, making sure there are no puddles, that the entire place is spotless.

It doesn’t end there—I try my hardest to make sure that our bedroom is clean, that I wash both Sophie’s and my dishes right after we’re done eating, that we never leave a single thing out of place. Still, none of that seems to be making a difference. Amy seems as unhappy as ever.

To make matters worse, I quickly start to realize that Jorge doesn’t seem like his normal self either, and I’m pretty sure I know why. His biggest goal in life is to make Amy happy… and right now, he seems to be failing miserably.

When Ma and Pa ask me how things are going, I tell them everything’s okay. I don’t want to worry them, because there’s nothing they can do anyway.