Kayla opened her mouth to mention the back door and the sound upstairs, but then she stopped. Tommy reached for his mother sleepily, Mark was smiling, the house looked warm and safe. Bringing it up suddenly felt dramatic.
Like she was making something out of nothing. Maybe she hadn’t locked the door. Maybe the sound had been the HVAC or a shifting pipe. Maybe it was all just nerves from her first day. So she kept quiet. But the unease didn’t leave. It just settled deeper.