The car pulled away from the estate. Arianne sat beside Leo in the backseat. The whale was in his lap, the blue plush fabric soft against his hands. He hadn't spoken. Hadn't reached for his tablet. He'd been quiet since they left the house, and it wasn't the quiet of calm. It was the quiet of a held breath.
The city moved past the windows—a bus, a woman with a stroller, the light catching an office building and throwing back a white flash. Arianne let the silence sit. She wasn't going to fill it just to make things comfortable. Leo didn't need comfortable right now. He needed clear.
"We're going to see Dr. Kellan," she said. "Your therapist."
He looked at her.
"After that, you'll stay with me the rest of the day. Just us. Lily is at home with Uncle Franz." She turned in her seat to face him. She wanted him to see her face when she said the next part. "This isn't a treat. You're not being rewarded. And Lily isn't being punished. Do you understand?"
