That night is the first night we eat dinner as a family since forever, and we're back to eating dinner in silence. Maybe winter break starts after school tomorrow and maybe we're all tired of it and maybe we're all exhausted by each other's problems and maybe Tyde and I can be with friends and stand through the noise without flinching and maybe that newspaper article hurt the world more than it helped and maybe Tyde doesn't need to sneak into my room each night to sleep but we're still eating in silence. The gentle clink of utensils against glass bowls is like the shattering of glass and Dad coughing is thunder.
Mum finishes first, wiping her mouth and setting down her napkin to watch the rest of us eat. "I got a call today, from Lila."
"L-lila as in Kayla's mom?" Tyde asks, looking up from his rice.
"Lila as in Kayla's mom," Mum clarifies, nodding. "And she invited me, all of us, to, well...." She takes a deep breath. "She invited us to go back to her house for winter break. Back home - back in Clarke Lake."
Silence.
We all stare at her, the idea being tossed around us, our thoughts running wildly.
In Clarke Lake.
With Kayla.
Where it happened.
Seeing friends.
Seeing the Oakleys.
Feeling the kind of air you can only get in Clarke Lake.
Seeing the school.
"Of course we don't have to do anything that you guys don't want to do," Mum rushes in, waving her hands above her empty plate.
"No," Tyde says. "I think that we should go."
Dad and I turn to stare at him, shocked.
"What?" he asks. "It - it'll be nice to see some friends again, and - "
I stand up. "Can I talk about this later?"
Mum nods without saying anything and I run upstairs.