Back Together

Fury and confusion swirled within me as I whirled around, seeking out the source of the sudden, searing pain that had lanced through my skull. Before me stood Grandma Adaline, her weathered face a mask of stern disapproval, brandishing her walking stick with a steely resolve. To my astonishment, Grace stood beside her, clutching another stick in her trembling hands.

"So, I was hit by two sticks?" I quipped incredulously, my voice edged with disbelief and indignation.

"You deserve it," Grace retorted, her tone laced in anger that sent a chill down my spine.

Grandma Adaline's voice cut through the tension, thick with concern and reproach. "Why are you doing this? Why did you drag her like that, Charles?"

Struggling to contain the tumult of emotions churning within me, I offered a halting justification, my voice tinged with a hint of defensiveness. "My boss told me to do it," I explained, my words hanging heavy in the charged silence that enveloped us.

The mention of Dylan's involvement