Chapter Twenty-One

x.X.x

March 17 – 2pm

My attention is pulled away by a gentle knock, followed by my mother's lilting voice.

I stand when she enters, wrapping me in her slender arms.

"Yer cousin says tha' yer troubled. Is somethin' wrong here at t' pub?"

She sits in the chair I'd just vacated, waiting for an answer.

"I canna' help if ye dinna' talk to me, a rún."

"Have you ever regretted doing something you thought was the right thing?"

Her warbling laugh filled the room.

"Everrah day, son. We wouldna' be human if we dinna' regret somethin'."

My eyes flick to the paper.

She notices.

Time for some more truth.