Page 25 of The Hotel Room

Here it comes.

Kate forced a weak smile, still folding. “If this is about the guest towels again, I promise Lily didn’t mean to—”

“It’s not the towels.” Leah stepped closer, voice gentler now, but firm in that way only a big sister could be. “Look, I love having you guys here. Really. But…”

Kate froze, a sock half-folded in her hand.

But.

She swallowed hard, not meeting Leah’s gaze. “It’s fine, I get it. We’ve been here too long. I’ll start looking for a rental tomorrow.”

“Kate, that’s not—”

“No, you’re right.” Her voice cracked as she stood, hands clenched around the laundry. “I know we’re in the way. You didn’t sign up to be a full-time babysitter or roommate or—”

“Kate.”

The sharpness in Leah’s voice made her stop.

When Kate finally met her sister’s eyes, Leah’s face wasn’t annoyed or exasperated. It was soft. Concerned.

“This isn’t about me,” Leah said quietly. “Iloveyou guys here. But it’s not working for the kids. And it’s not working foryou.”

Kate blinked. “What?”

Leah sighed, stepping closer. “Lily’s scared, Kate. She asked me last night if she did something wrong to make you leave the house. And Noah—he’s completely shut down. You know how much space he needs. He doesn’t evenfitin that twin bed you’ve crammed him into.”

Kate swallowed hard, shame burning under her skin. “I’m doing the best I can. I just—”

“Iknowyou are.” Leah’s voice softened. “But you can’t keep squeezing them into this space, waiting for things to magically get better. They needtheirrooms. Their house. Their stability.”

Kate turned away, hugging herself, the ache rising like a tide she couldn’t control.

“That house doesn’t feel like home anymore.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

Leah was quiet for a long moment.

Leah’s voice stayed soft, but unyielding. “It does for them. Kate…you’re not just punishing James with this. I get it. Ido.But the kids? They’re being dragged through this too.”

Kate turned sharply. “You think I don’t know that? You think I don’tseehow much they’re hurting? I’m trying, Leah! I’m trying to figure out how to keep it together when everything—”

Her voice broke.

Everything felt like it was unraveling.

Leah stepped closer, placing a hand gently on Kate’s arm.

“I’m not saying you should go back him,” she said softly. “But youdoneed to take back your life. And part of that means going home. Forthem. And for you.”

Kate swallowed hard, her voice hollow. “It won’t feel the same.”

Leah nodded. “Maybe not. But running from it isn’t working either. The kids need their space.Youneed your space. Why doesheget to stay in the house and forceyouout of your own home?”

Kate felt the weight of it pressing down—her sister’s words cracking open the truth she’d been too afraid to face.

She had left because it felt unbearable to stay. Because every inch of that house felt like a wound.

But Leah was right. Staying here—hiding—wasn’t solving anything.

---