Arianne heard them before she reached the doorway.
Lily's voice — too loud, too fast, the way it got when she was running ahead of herself. Kyle's underneath it, lower, resistant. Leo's tablet tapping in short bursts, the rhythm of someone trying to keep up.
She stopped at the edge of the doorway. Didn't step in.
Blocks scattered across the rug. A small chair dragged halfway across the room. A blanket crumpled near the wall. Lily stood in the center, already reaching for something Kyle was holding.
"I'm not doing it wrong," Kyle said, pulling back.
"It's going to fall."
"It won't."
Arianne stayed where she was.
She'd learned this — the difference between a fight that needed her in it and one that needed her nearby. They were negotiating. Badly. But they were doing it. She watched Lily's hands. Watched Kyle's jaw. Watched Leo type and hold up the screen and get ignored.
