Chapter 5 - My Brother Saw Nothing
I didn't stay in my room like Vanessa told me to. I sat on the top step where the carpet ended and the wood started, with my feet tucked under my dress so they wouldn't make a sound. My pocket felt heavy against my leg.
Downstairs, Dad's shoes hit the dining room floor hard. I heard a chair scrape back.
"Tyler," he said. "Sit back down. We're not done."
I held my breath and leaned forward until the railing pressed into my cheek. Through the bars I could see part of the table, the plates nobody had touched, and the china cabinet with all the glasses shining yellow in the light.
Tyler didn't sit right away. I heard him breathe out through his nose. "Daniel, come on. Vanessa's upstairs crying. Emma's a mess. Let it go for tonight."
"I'm not letting anything go," Dad said. His voice was low, the way it got when he was trying not to yell. "I need you to tell me exactly what happened before dinner. Before Emma pointed."
There was a quiet clink, like Tyler had picked up a glass and put it back down.
"I wasn't even in here," Tyler said. "I was at the end of the table checking my phone. You know how it is. I wasn't watching them."
I squeezed my dress with my fingers. That wasn't right. I remembered him sitting there with his fork in his hand, looking right at us. He had seen.
"You were sitting right here," Dad said. "You watched the whole thing. Don't tell me you saw nothing."
Tyler laughed a little, but it didn't sound happy. "I saw a kid get upset at dinner. That's all I saw. Kids cry, man."
Dad walked closer. I could see his gray shirt move past the doorway. "She didn't just cry. She pointed at my wife and then she grabbed me. And then Vanessa leaned over the table like she was going to—" He stopped. I heard him swallow. "What did Vanessa say to her before I stood up?"
"I don't know," Tyler said fast. "I had my head down. I told you, I was on my phone."
Then he looked up. Not at Dad. He looked past him, toward the china cabinet behind Dad's shoulder. Just a quick flick of his eyes, then back down. I saw it even from the stairs because the glass caught the light when he moved.
Dad saw it too. He went real still.
"Why do you keep looking over there?" he asked.
"I'm not," Tyler said.
"You just did. Twice now."
Tyler stood up so fast his chair hit the cabinet. One of the wine glasses rattled. "Because you're staring me down like I'm on trial. I'm your brother-in-law, Daniel. I'm on your side here."
Dad didn't move back. "Then act like it. Tell me the truth."
For a second nobody talked. The wall candles popped a little. Downstairs it smelled like warm food getting cold.
Tyler lowered his voice. "Listen to me. You have a nice house. Vanessa has friends in this town, the charity board, all that. You make a big thing out of a kid's tantrum, people talk. Just keep it calm. Tell Emma she misunderstood, tell Vanessa to let it go, and we eat dessert like nothing happened. For appearances."
My chest got tight. My hand went into my pocket without me even thinking and closed around the little thing in there. It was still there. Hard and real.
Dad was quiet for a long time. I thought maybe he'd agree, because grown-ups always agreed about being calm.
Then he said, "No."
"What?"
"I said no. I'm not telling my daughter she misunderstood when I don't know what happened yet."
Tyler sighed. "You're going to tear your marriage apart over a pocket full of nothing?"
Dad's voice got even quieter. "She's holding onto something like it's keeping her safe. I'm not taking it from her. I'm going to keep it safe until she tells me herself."
I pressed my back against the wall so they wouldn't hear me breathing. My heart was beating so loud I was sure it echoed down the stairs.
Downstairs, Tyler picked up his phone off the table. The screen lit up his face blue for a second.
May you like
"Fine," he said. "But when Vanessa asks, I saw nothing. Because I did see nothing."
He walked out toward the kitchen, and Dad stayed alone in the dining room, staring at the set table and the empty chairs.
