I Gave Away the Birthday Chocolates, Then the Screaming Started

by the fireplace, arms crossed, mascara smudged as if she had been crying and wiping her face with anger.

They all snapped their gaze to me at once.

“Brandon is awake,” I said.

Evelyn froze mid-step. Dad’s head jerked up. Melissa made a small wounded sound like the word awake had stabbed her.

I pulled out my phone and opened the audio recorder. The red continue reading …