“Is there anything you need from someone you live with? Something that really matters to you?”
Kayla blinked.
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
She looked around the kitchen.
“Don’t borrow my clothes without asking.”
Renee nodded.
“Absolutely. Your things are yours.”
That was all.
No teasing.
No challenge.
No argument about whether Kayla’s feelings were reasonable.
Renee simply accepted the boundary.
Kayla looked strangely unsettled.
As we walked back to the car, she kept glancing at the house.
“What did you think?” I asked.
“It’s nice.”
“That’s all?”
She shrugged.
“She seems normal.”
“That’s usually considered a compliment.”
Kayla smiled faintly.
Then she looked at the house one more time before getting into the car.
On the drive home, neither of us spoke for several minutes.
Finally, I asked the question I had been carrying around all week.
“Why did you need Andrew to fail?”
Kayla turned toward the window.
“I didn’t.”
