You wanted to know what you did wrong. You obviously did something for the entire household to act off with you. Just last week, Christmas break had ended and it was fine. But something must’ve happened, whether it was your fault or not.

It started with Phil not asking how your day went at school when you got back. The first time you wrote it off as you being busy. But the third time hurt. You sat next to the man, waiting for Phil to just acknowledge you, care enough to ask about your day. Yet, nothing happened.

You didn’t realize how attached you were to the small talk that turned into an hour of conversation and laughter until silence settled in its place.

At this point, you only thought you did something to Phill, that you had upset him unintentionally, and Wilbur was in another bad mood. But then Techno happened. You never told the man that the only reason you got home quicker than usual—why you rushed out of the school gates to meet Wilbur in the car park—on Thursdays was because you knew the minute you’d get back, Techno would be waiting to take you fencing.

This Thursday though, you had to learn the hard way that Techno had already left to go without you. Nothing was more humiliating than getting changed and waiting downstairs only for an hour to pass by and the sinking doubt you tried to ignore from the first five minutes had won.

By Friday, you had reached your breaking point.