I stepped out of my room and closed the door quietly behind me.
My heart was still beating too fast for something as simple as walking downstairs.
The house felt different this morning. Heavy. Like it was holding its breath.
I took the first step down.
Then the second.
Voices drifted from the living room before I even reached the bottom.
Lily was crying.
I stood still for a second, then hurried the rest of the way down. She was curled against Elena's side on the couch, her small shoulders shaking.
"My classmates called you drunk," she sobbed.
"They said Papa is crazy."
My chest tightened painfully. Of course the news had reached her school. Of course children would repeat what they heard at home.
Elena held her close, rubbing her back slowly. She looked calm, but I could see the strain in her eyes.
I knelt in front of Lily and gently lifted her chin. "Hey," I said softly. "They don't know anything. They're just repeating nonsense."
She sniffed.
"They laughed at me."
