“Not now, Callie. You’re going to school,” I state.

She frowns. “But it’s too late now.”

Eye twitching, I say, “Go get your stuff. I’ll bring you and say you didn’t feel well this morning, okay?”

Instead of answering, she returns her attention to Wren, whose lips are pinched as she looks back and forth between the two of us.

“You should probably go to school, but you can come see them whenever you want, okay?”

Callie lights up. “For real?”

One side of Wren’s lips twitches up for a moment. “For real.”

“All right. Thank you, Ms. Wren.”

“Just Wren is fine.”

“Come on, now,” I tell Callie as a thousand emotions bubble in my chest. “You’re already late.”

“Bye!” she says to Wren in a sing-songy tone before running back toward the house.

“Okay, well, I’ll leave you to your stuff,” Wren says once we’re alone.

“Thank you for that,” I tell her while cocking my head in the direction my sister went.

“No worries. See you later.” She bends down to pick two of her bags, then starts walking toward the cabin. She asked for the keys before even exiting the car, so she doesn’t need me. Still, I have the urge to go help her with all of her bags and the dogs’ leashes. I can’t, though. Not now.

This whole thing is a mess. I should’ve been here this morning. There was no real obligation for me to go back to the city in the first place, except that I wanted the peace and quiet for one night. And now, because I wasn’t there, Callie is hanging out alone at the house instead of being at school.

Thank God she didn’t look too bothered by it. I don’t know how I could’ve forgiven myself if I’d found a way to hurt her even more than she already is.

In my periphery, Callie comes out of the house and starts walking toward my car with her too-large backpack and purple lunchbox. At least Ma had the time to pack that.

I can’t be selfish anymore. This was a clear reminder of it. Ma can’t do everything by herself, and me dicking around can’t lead to anything good. They need me.

If twenty-four seven is what it takes, then that’s what I’ll give.

* * *

I wake up in a panic as the loudest scream I’ve ever heard rings in my ears.

What the hell?

I wait to hear more noise in the house, something like other people shouting or an object breaking, but nothing comes. It’s eerily quiet.

In a heartbeat, I’m on my feet, jogging to Callie’s room, which sits right next to mine, but when I open the door, I find her sleeping tight. Weird. It really sounded like a girl’s scream.