She came home and found her stepmom had given her bedroom to her own daughter. Was the room change fair or completely disrespectful?

Lily came down the stairs holding her phone.

“Mom said Dad's care would take everything he had,” she told me. “She said moving me into your room would make it easier when they showed the house.”

I stared at her.

“Did she tell you Dad wanted to sell?”

“Yes.”

Vanessa had stopped in the hall. She turned toward Lily.

“I said it might be necessary.”

“You said he agreed,” Lily replied.

I took a breath. The house, my room, the hurried boxes—Vanessa had been preparing us for something Dad knew nothing about.

“I'm going to call him,” I said.

Vanessa folded the folder against her chest.

“I'll speak to my husband myself.”

“You can. I'm still calling.”

Dad listened while I explained about the contractor. Then Lily got on the phone and told him what Vanessa had said to her. I could hear him take a slow breath.

“Put Vanessa on, please,” he said.

I handed her the phone. She carried it into the study and shut the door.

Lily and I waited in the kitchen.

“I believed her,” Lily said. “I thought if you were downstairs, you'd be less upset when we moved.”

“That didn't make sense.”

“I know that now.”

I wanted to stay angry with her. Part of me still was. But she'd just spoken to Dad when she could have kept protecting herself.

Vanessa came out of the study ten minutes later. Her eyes were wet.

“He wants us all to meet tomorrow,” she said.

“Will you bring the folder?” I asked.

“Yes.”

The meeting took place in a private room at the rehabilitation center. Mr. Bell came at Dad's request. Lily sat beside Vanessa. I sat beside Dad.

Vanessa opened her folder. It held estimates for renovations, the contractor's contact details, and notes on homes closer to the center. She had looked at places for herself, Dad, and Lily.

“You were going to tell me when?” Dad asked.

“When I had a workable plan.”

“I told you I wanted to recover and come home.”

“Your therapist said it could take months.”

“He said I was improving.”

Vanessa's hands tightened around the folder.

“I was scared we couldn't afford to keep the house and pay for care.”

“I understand being scared,” Dad said. “I was scared too. I needed you to talk to me.”

“I tried. You kept saying everything would be fine.”

I heard the hurt in her voice. Dad heard it too. He didn't dismiss it.

“Then you could have told me you needed a clearer answer,” he said. “You moved Mara's belongings and arranged for someone to look at the house instead.”

Vanessa looked at me.

“I shouldn't have moved her things.”

I waited. She didn't add an excuse.

Dad asked about the transfers. Vanessa gave him receipts for some expenses. Others were personal purchases and money she'd set aside for a move.

“You used the bill account,” he said.

“I thought I could put it back after we sold.”

“The house wasn't yours to sell.”

“It was yours when I started planning,” she replied.

Mr. Bell made a note. Dad sat back, exhausted.

“I need time,” he said.

Vanessa reached toward him, then stopped.

“I don't want to lose you.”

“I don't know what we're going to do,” Dad replied. “I do know Mara will live in her room, and nobody will make decisions about this house without her.”

Vanessa nodded once.

I felt no sudden joy. I wanted Dad well. I wanted him to make his choices without being cornered by anyone, including me.

After the meeting, I walked with him down the hall.

“Are you thinking of coming home with Vanessa?” I asked.

“I want to come home when my therapist says I'm ready. Vanessa and I have a lot to discuss first.”

“You don't have to decide for me.”

“I know,” he said. “You don't have to decide for me either.”

He squeezed my hand.

At work the next day, I struggled to concentrate. A patient needed me, and I focused on her until my shift ended. The moment I checked my phone, I found a message from Lily.

Mom is packing. She says she's going to Tasha's for a while. Can you come home?

I called her. She answered in a whisper.

“She asked me to leave with her,” Lily said. “I told her I needed to finish my first week at work. She said if I stayed, I'd be choosing your side.”

I closed my eyes.

“Where are you?”

“In my room.”

“I'll be there in twenty minutes.”

When I arrived, Vanessa was putting bags into her car. She glanced at me but said nothing. I didn't try to stop her.

Lily stood at the front door, holding her keys.

“Mom won't answer me now,” she said.

“She may need time.”

“Do you want me out too?”