(Author's POV)
She walked to the door. She opened it. She closed it behind her - not a slam, just a quiet, final click.
For a moment the hallway was still. Then she heard Leo's voice through the door, raised, and Martha's voice rising to meet it.
She didn't go back.
Leo watched his sister leave and felt the click of the door like something closing in his own chest.
He turned to face his mother.
Martha was shaking. Her hands, her shoulders, the line of her mouth. "She'll be back," she said, and her voice had a brittle edge to it. "Give her three days. She'll come crawling back and apologize. She always does."
Leo looked at her.
He looked at the set table - the roast chicken going cold, the mashed potatoes, the untouched salad - and then back at his mother's face.
He didn't say anyt
