The television was on because Lily thought cartoons were for mornings and evenings were for "real things." The volu was low; the anchor’s voice ran under everything else. Arianne had accepted this.
The twins played on the rug near the sofa. Leo sat cross-legged with his tablet on his knee, while Lily sorted colored blocks into neat stacks, which she would later say were a city.
Arianne sat at the long end of the table in the sitting room with her laptop open and a folder of docunts beside it. The light outside was fading into the evening. Montreal’s winter brightness had faded into a pale grey against the windows.
She had just finished one call about a licensing contract and was halfway through reviewing a revised clause when the television volu suddenly increased, with no one touching the remote. It wasn’t louder. It was sharper.
"...breaking from our earlier segnt—an incident during filming this afternoon involving international television star Noah Hart..."
Lily stopped stacking.
Arianne did not look up right away. She was used to seeing the na on broadcasts, so she didn’t feel the need to react. She finished the line she was reading before she lifted her gaze.
The screen displayed the outside of a downtown building designed to look like a hospital. The wind pulled at loose cables, and a tal lighting truss had partially collapsed onto the pavent. Crew mbers moved carefully around it. A banner on the fence displayed the title of the dical drama that Franz had resud filming after his recovery. The anchor spoke in a calm voice.
"...production temporarily halted after a structural lighting elent gave way. Sources report no confird major injuries at this ti. Hart, who recently returned to work following a shoulder injury, was reportedly on set when the incident occurred..."
The word accident ca up twice. No one on the broadcast sounded alard. That didn’t an anything. Accidents were reported calmly all the ti. Calm voices didn’t prevent damage.
Arianne muted the television.
The room didn’t get quieter. It shifted. Lily turned toward her. Leo had already beco still.
Arianne reached for her phone on the table and dialed Franz’s number. The call rang once and disconnected. The second attempt went straight to voicemail.
She ended the call without leaving a ssage and dialed a third ti. The third call rang longer. Voicemail again.
She did not call back right away. Instead, she opened her laptop and looked for live updates. Many entertainnt websites had already posted the sa video. The headlines changed. The footage didn’t.
Leo’s tablet screen lit briefly as he typed. He turned it toward her.
LIKE BEFORE? Leo didn’t blink when he asked. He was not asking about equipnt.
The letters were uneven, pressed harder than usual.
Arianne stood and crossed the room to the television, not to unmute it, but to switch it off entirely. The screen darkened, leaving only the faint reflection of the room in its surface.
"This is not the sa," she said, returning to kneel in front of them. "This was equipnt."
Lily watched her face with open scrutiny.
"He just got better," she said. It was not an accusation.
It was accounting. His shoulder had been in a brace for weeks after he fell during rehearsal six months ago. The twins changed their movents around him without being asked.
"I know," Arianne replied.
Leo looked down at his tablet again. NOT AGAIN appeared after a few seconds.
The phrase lingered between the twins. Eight months wasn’t enough ti for certain words to lose weight. News of Alex and Layla’s accident had co in fragnts. After that, the city felt smaller.
Arianne kept her eyes focused.
"This is different," she said. "They said there are no major injuries."
"But you don’t know," Lily insisted.
"No," Arianne replied. "I don’t know yet."
The uncertainty sat plainly between them. It didn’t expand. It didn’t shrink. It just stayed.
She stood up and walked back to the table, dialing another number as she moved. Daryll’s phone rang for a long ti but went unanswered. She didn’t leave a ssage.
Next, she called Monica. The call failed right away, as if there was no signal. Monica always answered. If she couldn’t talk, she texted right away. The lack of response mattered more than the footage.
Monica never missed calls. Not during storms. Not during ergencies.
Arianne sent a brief ssage to Daryll: Call imdiately.
Another to Monica: Confirm status.
She put the phone down and carefully closed her laptop, neatly stacking the docunts in the folder. The clause would still be there later.
Leo stood and ca closer, his tablet held against his chest. He typed again.
CALL AGAIN.
She did. Franz’s phone went to voicemail on the first ring.
"I’m going to the set," she said. The decision had already been made. Saying it aloud didn’t change anything. It only moved the next step forward.
Lily straightened. "Is he hurt?"
"I don’t know," Arianne answered. "I’m going to see."
Leo typed, slower this ti. WE GO?
"No." The word was gentle but final. "You’ll stay here."
Lily frowned slightly. "What if he needs—"
"There are doctors there," Arianne said. "It’s a hospital show. They have dics on set."
Leo typed again. BRING SCARF. WIND.
He was thinking ahead. She noticed.
She nodded once. "I will."
She went upstairs, got her coat, and wrapped a scarf around her neck without looking in the mirror. She moved slowly and carefully, not in a hurry. Rushing would not shorten the distance.
Before going down the stairs, she checked her phone again. There were no missed calls or new ssages.
The hallway felt longer than it had that morning. Nothing in it had changed. The twins were waiting by the door. Lily had put on her own boots without being asked.
"You’re not coming," Arianne repeated softly.
Lily took off the boots, clearly not wanting to.
Leo held up his tablet once more. CO BACK. The words were smaller this ti. He didn’t lower the tablet right away.
Arianne t his eyes. "I will."
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