*Maddy*

Sunlight beats down on the back garden. It’s too beautiful a day. The sun is bright and warm, the sky totally cloudless, and every flower in Isla’s rose garden in bloom.

Ella walks through the flowers, rubbing petals between her fingers. I watch her for several moments before I hear the clinking of glass behind me and turn my head to find Isla setting a tray of ice tea on one of the bistro tables. Her eyes are red and distant as she pours a glass for herself, drinking ...