Callie scoffed. “What?!”
Mallory shrugged. “I’m just a little confused.”
Turning to face her daughter, Callie shook her head and crossed her arms. “Well, since you’re under the impression that I’m lying... Why don’tyoutellmewhat you think Sasha was doing, hm?”
“I never accused anyone of lying…” Mallory stood up from the bed, keeping her voice calm. She didn’t want to put her mom in a mood before Ariel and the kids arrived. “I was just trying to get the story straight, that’s all.”
“There’s nothing to get straight,” she said, her expression hardening. “There’s no ‘story.’ I told you what happened and that’s that. Why are you making this into a big deal?”
“That’s not my intention. When I heard you gasp earlier, I thought something was wrong.” Mallory raised her hands in defense. “Not trying to interrogate, I was just worried about you.”
Callie’s face softened. “Oh. Well, I’m sorry I scared you. But really, I was just startled when I saw Sasha in the bedroom, but everything’s fine. There’s no reason to worry.”
Although Mallory doubted this, she could feel the tension rising in the room and decided to yield this time. “Alright, I guess I overreacted a bit.”
“It’s fine.” Callie waved for Mallory to follow her through the open bedroom door. “Let’s go downstairs. Your sister will be here any second.”
“I’m coming, I’m coming.”
On their way out, Mallory glanced back once more in a last attempt to see if anything seemed out of place, but the room appeared perfectly in order.
*
Ariel and the kids arrived like a tornado.
Barreling through the front door, Ariel didn’t even stop to say hello. “I have to pee so bad!” she announced, darting down the hall towards the bathroom. Her kids filed in afterwards, one by one, with their own complaints.
“That was the longest car rideever,” Hannah groaned before throwing herself down onto the living room couch. She hadn’t even bothered to take her shoes off, which Mallory knew was driving Callie crazy, even though she stayed silent. “I’m never doing it again.”
“Well, I hope that’s not true,” Callie muttered with a dejected expression. Having not received a hug from her daughter or her oldest grandchild, she reached down in a desperate attempt to embrace her grandson, Micah. To her surprise, he relented and wrapped his arms around her legs. His eyes were red and glossy from crying. “What’s the matter, honey?”
“I got car sick,” he said, looking up at her with a pitiful expression. “And Becca made fun of me the rest of the way.”
“No, I didn’t!” Becca yelled, struggling to drag her heavy pink backpack into the house. “I said you smelled bad becauseyou did!”
“That’s not my fault! I threw up and my shirt got dirty!” Micah stomped his foot. “I wanted to change, but mom said no cause we were only twenty minutes away from grandma’s.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Callie said, running her hand through his dark hair. “I’ll take you upstairs and we’ll clean you up. Do you have a fresh shirt in your bag?”
“It’s in the car.”
“You guys go ahead. I’ll grab the rest of the luggage,” Mallory said. “And bring up a clean shirt in a minute or two.”
Callie thanked her with a smile and then took Micah upstairs. Mallory grabbed Becca’s backpack and strained to lift it over the threshold. “Sheesh! Girl, what’s in here? Rocks?”
“She brought all her toys,” Hannah said from the couch. “And two video games. It’s like she thinks we’ll be here for months.”
“I can see that,” Mallory said, setting the bag down on the recliner. A moment later, David walked out of the kitchen and greeted his granddaughters. Mallory then stepped outside and began unloading the luggage from the back of Ariel’s minivan. By the time her sister emerged from the house, she’d offloaded almost all the bags and placed them on the front step.
“You don’t have to do that,” Ariel said, taking the last duffle from Mallory’s hands. “I was just about to—”
“It’s okay.” Mallory shook her head and smiled. “I’m happy to help. I know the car ride was… a lot.”
“That’s an understatement.” Ariel brushed a couple strands of dark red hair from her face. It was a new color on her, and it complemented her soft blue eyes.
Mallory chuckled and shut the trunk before they made their way back to the house. When they reached the front steps, Mallory bent down to grab a couple bags, but Ariel tapped her arm and stopped her.
“Before we go in,” she said, keeping her voice low, “I wanted to ask… is that woman here?”
