▼ a n g r y ▲

Another used, balled up tissue rolled near Bella. She stopped it with the tip of her shoe and scowled at her youngest sister.

“Are you done with your theatrics, Cissa?”

The younger girl blubbered something tragically incoherent — round, pale cheeks flushed as blotchy, red spots appeared, almost instantaneously, with the overexertion that came with nonstop crying — and made Bella angry.

“Narcissa, enough!” Bella bristled, jaw clenched as she made an attempt to look sympathetic.

“You…why did you — “ came Narcissa in between bouts of uneasy hiccups.

“Grow up.”

Bella rolled her eyes and knocked the tissues out of Narcissa’s hands.

▼ e i g h t y - f o u r ▲ : intermission.