"Sister, something happened, isn't it? You're acting strange."
They were gathered at the family estate that day. Samantha approached cautiously, pouting as she grumbled.
Elara had wanted to skip the gathering entirely. The thought of dealing with family politics made her head throb, but feeling a flicker of guilt for blowing off Samantha's recent calls, she had forced herself to come.
Before stepping through the heavy front doors, she had stood in the garden, chain-smoking to suppress her mood. But just the thought of seeing her sisters made the anger rise in her chest again.
It was mostly because she hadn't slept the night before. If she had known she would feel this on edge, she would have taken the sleeping pills and dealt with the morning fog.
"Me?" Elara asked, her voice flat.
"Yeah. Is something going on lately?"
"There's always something going on, Sam."
