It was already dark when Nicole finally got home to her Aunt Norma’s house. She walked slowly—not only because she still wasn’t feeling well, and in fact felt even worse after sleeping the whole afternoon—but also because she was scared to face her aunt.
For a moment, she regretted not going with Leah when she came to pick her up at the office earlier. She also regretted not listening to Alexander when he told her not to go home yet.
She let out a harsh sigh when she finally reached the wooden door of her aunt’s house. She mustered up whatever courage she had left to knock, but paused when she heard voices from inside. Her brows furrowed when she heard her name—clearly, they weren’t talking about her running away.
Instead of knocking, she moved carefully toward the small window and peek
