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“You know damn well what you did wrong, Fennec. Poor Papa could’ve got injured far worse. You’re lucky he didn’t.”

Without another word, she left my bedroom and walked straight into the kitchen.

Your family’s slowly turning against you. Good job, buddy.

Their laughter and mockery couldn’t get to my head. It would only make things worse.

I took a deep breath and turned to walk over to Papa’s room, and when I reached it and pushed it open, I saw Vespyr sitting on the side of the bed with Papa’s hand in hers.

Papa had a cast on his ankle, and a bandage was around his leg where he had bled from the abrasion.

When my eyes met his, neither of us spoke.

There were the same emotions lingering in his eyes as Mama’s, both filled with disappointment, confusion, and for some reason, fear.

“Papa’s doing better already. The doc said his ankle will heal in a few weeks,” Vespyr said happily, unaware of all the negative tension in this house.

I nodded, looking back at the cast but staying right there. “Sorry about your leg, Papa,” I told him. “And sorry I didn’t help you get him out of the river sooner, Ves.”

“It’s okay, Fennec. Come closer. Papa just told me about this idea he had about camp. That maybe he’ll make more space for an even bigger cabin, and—”

“Vespyr, sweetheart,” Papa interrupted her, lifting his hand and cupping her face. “Why don’t you go help Mama in the kitchen so Fennec and I can talk, hm?”

Vespyr frowned at him, and I wondered if her naiveness increased in this house in some strange way.

She’s a smart girl, but at times, I wondered if there was something wrong with her too.

Obviously.

“Yes, of course.” She smiled at him and leaned in to kiss his cheek before she got up and walked toward me to exit the room.

I watched her closely and stepped aside to let her out, and once she was gone, I closed the door behind me so Papa and I had some privacy.

“I’m sorry,” I told him again, but he shook his head at me.

“Your apology is not what I need, Fennec. I’m sure your mother has already told you about Mrs. Irvine, and that she’s awaiting you tomorrow.”

I nodded, my jaw tense.

“She’ll help you understand why you did those things. It’s not normal, and you know if I could still stand on both feet, I wouldn’t spare you from some much-deserved punches.”

Violence toward your own kid? Sure. Why not.

But, hey…he had his reasons, and I definitely deserved a bloody nose and a few hits to my twisted head.

“Can I go now?”

“Stay away from Vespyr. She’ll see Mrs. Irvine tomorrow too.”

“Why?”

“Because you made her sick. She doesn’t understand, and I don’t want her to turn into something she’s not before it’s too late. Stay away,” he repeated.

His words angered me, although everything he said was true.

He had told me to keep my distance from her before, but the last time he did, he made me react in a way I shouldn’t have.

“I have to pee,” Vespyr told Papa, and I stopped walking to look back at her.

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