I roll my eyes. “Don’t be dramatic. You didn’t even know this man existed yesterday, so havingsupervised calls with him won’t be the end of the world.”
Elise’s face flushes red. Her lips pucker as anger builds behind them. I can practically see the wordsgathering at the end of her tongue, ready to let loose.
Then, all at once, tears roll down her cheeks. “You’re such a b***h, Belle.”
The moment I’m alone, everything crashes down on me at once. I stumble back against the kitchencounter, overwhelmed by the weight of it. I grip the cold granite for stability.
“She hates me,” I murmur.
I’m not handling anything right. I don’t know how to take care of Elise. I can’t be her sister or hermom or whatever weird mix of the two I was trying to be. I
