Silent Noise

Chapter 24: Secrets on the Table

The hum buzzed in my chest—a restless, crackling storm that hadn't calmed since Mom came back from Edenville. Something about her return didn't sit right. It wasn't just her glow or the sharp cut of her wine-red dress. It was the silence. The stillness. The way she walked like she knew something she wasn't telling me.

I sat at our chipped kitchen table, the air thick with unspoken questions. My fingers drummed on the wood, the rhythm matching the hum in my bones. Mom moved around the kitchen, humming as if we weren't caught in a cold war. She looked lighter, brighter—even her steps had a rhythm they never had before. Like she'd dropped some invisible weight and picked up a new secret instead.

She plated dinner like it was just another Thursday. Secretburger. Dad's favorite. Greasy, stacked, dripping sauce, paired with his weird fruit punch that burned your throat but made him laugh every time. Nostalgia slapped me across the face like a cruel joke.

This wasn't dinner. This was a stage. And she was playing a role.

The hum inside me sharpened, turned bitter and metallic. Something was off. Off in a way that had teeth.

I watched her sit. Watched her sip. Watched her act like this wasn't a funeral feast for trust.

I didn't touch my food. I couldn't. The tension was a vice on my ribs.

And then, I sighed. For the eighth time.

Her fork paused mid-air. "What is it?" she asked, not even looking up.

Silence.

She looked at me now, eyes narrowed. "What? That's the eighth time you've sighed, Ella. You gonna keep doing it till your lungs collapse?"

I didn't flinch. Just stared.

"Okay," she said, her voice tight. "You've been acting weird ever since I got back."

My laugh was hollow. "I'm the one acting weird?"

"Spill it." She set her glass down with a thud. "Now."

I snapped. "You're acting suspicious, Mom! Your disappearances, those cryptic letters, the overnight glow-up, and then this so-called vacation in Edenville—are you serious?"

She blinked. Once. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." I pushed my plate back, appetite drowned in suspicion. "You went to Edenville, Mom. You didn't just change your hairstyle—you changed your whole aura."

Her lips parted, about to argue, but I didn't let her.

"You said it was just a break. Just time for yourself." I leaned forward. "But you don't come back from Edenville with sun-kissed skin and mystery in your eyes unless you made a deal—or a mistake."

Her eyes darkened. "Lower your voice."

"No," I shot back. "Tell me what you did there. Who you saw. Who you became."

She stood. "I said—"

"I said cut the crap!" My voice shook, not from fear, but rage. The hum inside me roared, fed by betrayal and a thousand unasked questions. "You know who killed Dad lives there. You know what Edenville represents. And you strolled in like it was a spa weekend!"

She held her ground, shoulders squared. "I didn't go there to chase ghosts."

"No?" I spat. "Then what were you chasing?"

She inhaled sharply, nostrils flaring. Her jaw tightened—and then, slowly, her stance softened. She exhaled like I was an overreacting child. "Is that what's got you worked up?"

I folded my arms. "Don't patronize me."

She walked around the table and leaned against the wall, arms crossed now too. "Fine. I wanted to wait until after dinner, but you're clearly not letting this go."

The room tensed with her pause. I could hear the clock ticking like a bomb.

She looked up, her expression unreadable. "I'm seeing someone."

For a moment, the hum stopped.

I blinked. "You're what?"

"I'm seeing someone," she repeated, slower this time, as if I was a toddler trying to sound out syllables.

The words didn't make sense. My brain short-circuited trying to file them under something logical. Someone? After everything? After Dad?

"Is this a joke?" I asked, flat.

"No joke."

The hum returned—louder, confused, frenzied. I stared at her, searching for signs of manipulation, of brainwashing, of Edenville poisoning her mind. But all I saw was… calm.

Who the hell was she seeing?

And more importantly—

What else wasn't she telling me?