Chapter 217

　　"Are you going to stand there all night, or are you going to face me?"

　　My mother's voice cut through the damp air of the corridor.

　　I froze.

　　My hand stayed glued to the wooden doorframe.

　　My knuckles were white.

　　"I am busy, Mother," I said.

　　"You are hiding," she said.

　　The floorboards c...