The coat room door opened, and it was Delia, with Warrick behind her.
Delia: There you are. Get out of the coats. Both of you.
Warrick: She's staying. Put her in the blue room.
Warrick put his hand on my shoulder like he was hanging a coat on a hook.
Warrick: Family is family. The press loves a happy house.
Delia's smile came up fast for the hall. It died the second he turned away.
The blue room was bigger than the whole place where I grew up.
White quilt. Tall window. It did not look like a room for me.
Cato: This is yours. The woman at the door had it.
He put it on the bench and stepped back out of the doorway. Like the room was mine.
Finn: Towels are in the closet. If you need anything, I'm down the hall.
Then heels hit the hall again.
Delia: Out. Both of you. I need a word with my daughter.
Cato: Door stays open.
Delia: Sit down. I'll say this once.
I sat on the edge of the bed with my hands in my lap.
Delia: One. Hair covers the neck. Two. Long sleeves for marks. Three. You don't talk to press.
Delia: And in public, that thing on your face stays covered. Scarf, hair, makeup, I don't care which.
Delia: Warrick's people watch every picture. One bad shot and you're back in county.
Delia: Look at me when I talk to you.
My chin came up and my throat went tight. The scars felt hot, like she turned a light on them.
Delia: God. You look like something that got dragged in.
Cato: That's enough. She heard you the first time.
Delia: This is between me and my daughter.
Cato: No. It's between you and the door, and I'm not moving.
Delia: Fine. She can have her rules from you. See how far that gets her.
She left. The room felt bigger and colder at the same time.
Finn came back with a glass of water and set it on the nightstand.
Finn: Nobody's going to make you cover up in this house. Just so you know.
I didn't answer. I wanted to believe him so bad my chest hurt.
Cato: Can I sit?
He pointed at the end of the bed, far from me. Then he waited for my answer.
Sienna: Okay.
He sat down slow. Then he just sat there, like sitting was the whole thing he came to do.
Cato: The rules she gave you. They're hers. Not mine.
Cato: In this house you eat when you're hungry and you sleep when you're tired. That's it.
My eyes stung. I looked at the quilt so he wouldn't see it.
Finn: Door stays open, that's Cato's rule for us. Not for you. You can shut it.
I thought about shutting it after they left. I left it open.
That night I lay in the big white bed with my shoes off and my scarf still on.
Then I took the scarf off and put it on the nightstand. Nobody came to put it back.
A door down the hall opened and closed. Footsteps came past my door, stopped, and went on.
I didn't know if it was Cato or Finn. I fell asleep before I decided if I wanted them to knock.