Briar woke to muffled arguing and a throbbing head. She heard her bedroom door creak open, and she felt the frame of her daughter sliding into bed with her. She rolled over and wrapped her arms around her.
“What’s going on?”
“Dad and that Samira lady are fighting. Well, she is yelling. His mom is yelling. Dad is standing there glaring at them, occasionally saying stuff in Russian. I didn’t like it. Gabriella is sitting on the sofa as if what he did was normal.”
“What is normal?” Something in Hadlee’s voice made Briar on edge.
“Dad smacked Samira.”
Briar sat up and immediately regretted it, her head spinning dangerously. “He did what now?”
“Smacked her hard in the face. Gabriella didn’t even flinch. Mom, if someone hit you, I’d be freaking out and she sat there like it was expected.
