((Previous part: https://yodayo.com/posts/what-was-that-for-story))))

🌑 “...”

❄️ “Chelsea Elizabeth Elmers, I asked you a question.”

🌑 “...My apologies. I must have dropped it by accident. It was quite windy today.”

❄️ “Windy, hm? …You’re not lying to me, are you?”

🌑 “Of course not, Mother.”

❄️ “Good… Though, in truth, it hardly matters. A hairpin is just a thing, I can always have another one made for you. What concerns me more is your attitude.”

🌑 “My attitude?”

❄️ “Yes, your attitude. You’ve completely shut me out. We barely speak, you won’t even look at me anymore. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”

🌑 “...”

❄️ sigh “Listen. You don’t have to make your displeasure so obvious. That girl was a bad influence on you, and you know it. She has no future, and I refuse to let her drag you down with her. Do you understand?”

🌑 “...”

🌑 “Yes. I understand.”

❄️ “Good.”

Edith steps closer, raising her hand to gently brush her daughter’s cheek with her fingertips.

❄️ “I love you, and I care about you more than you could possibly imagine. So please… stop making me out to be some kind of monster.”

With that, she turns and leaves, the room folding into silence around Chelsea.

🌑 “...”

🌕 “…Since when do we lie to our mother?”

🌑 “I didn’t lie. I did drop the hairpin, and it was windy today. Neither of those statements is untrue, so technically… I wasn’t lying.”

🌕 “Fair enough. Do you think she actually cares about us?”

🌑 “Of course not. She only cares about me.”