My son ʜɪᴛ me just because the soup wasn’t seasoned with salt. The next morning, he said, “My mother-in-law is coming for lunch, cover everything up and smile!” Then he went to the office, and when he walked into his boss’s office, his face was as pale as chalk.

Brandon attempted a short laugh that sounded forced and brittle. “That cannot be right because nothing serious happened,” he said, though his hands began to tremble at his sides.

Karen slid the folder a few inches closer but did not push it directly toward him. “We cannot share the identity of the caller, but your address and your name were both mentioned, and we also need to acknowledge that you have seemed unusually tense at work for several weeks.”

Gregory leaned forward slightly and added, “You have missed deadlines and snapped at coworkers recently, and this conversation is about what is happening to you as well as what you might be doing to others.” The silence stretched long enough for Brandon to hear his own breathing grow uneven.

“Did you strike someone in your home last night,” Karen asked gently but directly. Brandon squeezed his eyes shut and whispered, “I hit my mother,” as if the confession burned on the way out.