She drove in silence. Her mom sighed again and looked back at her in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot and ringed with smeared mascara. Had she been crying?

She stared at her in the mirror for a moment before looking away. It wasn't her business anyway.

She hesitated. "Liseolette...there was an...accident at home," she began. "Your father had to take Ethan to the hospital this afternoon." She paused again, blinking rapidly, and took a short breath. "Beau attacked him." She had called Luke 'her father'.

" ...oh. Is he okay? " She asked. She decided not to get annoyed this time at the say she referred to Luke.

"Yes." She gave her a tired smile. "Very shaken up, but nothing serious, thank God." Beau adored Ethan; he got upset if anyone even scolded my half brother. She'd seen Ethan yanking on Beau's fur, ears, and tail, and the dog barely responded with a lick. She'd seen Beau take Ethan's sleeve and gently tug him back from the driveway. Their German shepherd might be a terror to squirrels and deer, but he'd never even shown teeth to anyone in the house.

" What about Beau? " She asked her.

Her eyes filled with tears. "We can't have a dangerous dog running around," she said, and the plea for understanding was loud and clear. "If Ethan asks, tell him that we found Beau another home." She took a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel tightly, not looking at her. "It's for the safety of the family. Don't blame your father. But, after Luke brought Ethan home, he took Beau to the pound." Or so she thought. Actually, Isiea had killed the dog.

She held back her scoff and turned her head to the window, not saying anything else.

At dinner that night, Mom and Luke talked between themselves about useless, trivial stuff, and Ethan sat clutching Floppy in silence. It was weird not having Beau pacing around the table like he always did, looking for crumbs.

Liseolette mostly ate small bits and pieces of her food, not really hungry.