"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one I've got."
She leaned back into the couch and crossed one leg under her carefully. "I can't keep waiting around for her to decide not to hate me anymore."
"Then don't."
She turned toward me.
"Brad."
"What?"
"I mean it. I need help here."
The words sat between us for a second.
I knew what she meant before she said the rest.
"You're gone all day. I'm tired all the time. The house is tense all the time. I can't keep pretending none of that matters."
I rubbed a hand over my face.
"I know."
"No, I don't think you do."
That irritated me, mostly because she was right.
She kept going.
"I thought things would settle by now. Not be perfect, just settle. But Lena has taken herself out of everything. She doesn't speak to me, which is fine, I d
