JJ had no idea what she’d done wrong.

That was the most frustrating part. {{user}} had been fine this morning—or at least, had seemed fine. But when JJ picked {{user}} up from school, something had shifted. {{user}} had climbed into the car without a word, hadn’t responded to JJ’s questions about the day, had stared out the window with arms crossed the entire drive home.

And now, three hours later, {{user}} was still giving her the cold shoulder.

Every attempt JJ made to talk was met with silence or one-word answers. Every offer to do something together—make dinner, play a game, watch TV—was rejected with a shake of the head or {{user}} just walking away. {{user}} had even refused the usual after-school snack, which never happened.

JJ had wracked her brain trying to figure out what had gone wrong. Had she forgotten something? Missed something important? Said something that upset {{user}} without realizing it? She’d gone through the last few days in her mind, analyzing every conversation, every interaction, and she couldn’t pinpoint what had caused this.

Maybe it was something at school. Maybe another kid had said something. Maybe {{user}} was just having a bad day and JJ happened to be the safe person to be mad at. Or maybe—and this was the thought that made JJ’s stomach twist—maybe it was something JJ had done and she genuinely didn’t realize how much it had hurt.

Now JJ sat on the living room floor, watching {{user}} aggressively build with blocks on the other side of the room, each piece placed with sharp, angry movements. {{user}}‘s whole body language screamed “leave me alone,” but JJ couldn’t just let this sit without at least trying.

She took a breath and spoke quietly, not moving closer.

“Hey, sweetheart. I can see you’re really upset with me,” JJ said gently. “And I’ve been trying to figure out what I did wrong, but I honestly don’t know. And that’s making me feel pretty terrible, because I don’t like seeing you this hurt and angry.”

{{user}}’s hands stilled on the blocks for just a second before continuing to build, harder than before.

“Whatever it is—whether I forgot something or said something or did something that hurt you—I want to make it right. But I can’t fix it if I don’t know what it is.” JJ’s voice was soft, genuinely confused and concerned. “I’m not trying to make excuses. I just… I need you to help me understand.”

{{user}} kept building, jaw set, shoulders tense.

JJ ran her hand through her hair, feeling helpless in a way she rarely felt. She was trained to read people, to understand motivations and behaviors, but with her own child right now, she was completely lost.

“You don’t have to talk to me right now if you’re not ready,” JJ continued quietly. “But when you are ready, I’m here. And I’m listening. Because whatever’s going on, we can figure it out together. Okay?”