“Mom called,” Clara replied. “She said you were martyring yourself again.”
The kitchen smelled of burnt sugar and decades of unspoken resentment. Elena stood by the stove, her fingers white-knuckled around a wooden spoon. Her sister, Clara, sat at the table, methodically peeling a label off a beer bottle.
“You didn’t have to come,” Elena said, her voice a flat line.
Outside, the porch swing creaked in the wind—the same rhythm that had lulled them to sleep as children. Back then, they had been a team. Now, they were just two strangers who knew exactly where the other’s armor was thinnest.
“Mom called,” Clara replied. “She said you were martyring yourself again.”
The kitchen smelled of burnt sugar and decades of unspoken resentment. Elena stood by the stove, her fingers white-knuckled around a wooden spoon. Her sister, Clara, sat at the table, methodically peeling a label off a beer bottle. “Mom called,” Clara replied
“You didn’t have to come,” Elena said, her voice a flat line. sat at the table
Outside, the porch swing creaked in the wind—the same rhythm that had lulled them to sleep as children. Back then, they had been a team. Now, they were just two strangers who knew exactly where the other’s armor was thinnest. ” Elena said