Laura blinked, her eyes filled with questions as she looked at Justin. "You... who are you?"
Justin glanced at the bruises on her fair arm, surprised. "Laura, it's me, Justin. What happened to you? Did that guy hurt you? I'm going to deal with him..."
"No, please don't..."
Just as Justin was about to confront the man, Laura stopped him. She wasn't worried about the man's safety but feared Justin might end up back in jail, and that thought made her feel unbearably guilty.
The man, clutching his stomach, stumbled away and shouted, "Asshole, just you wait. Tomorrow, I'll make sure you regret it!"
Laura had endured a difficult life; her father died in a car accident when she was young, and she lived with her mother. She and Justin grew up as neighbors, just two houses apart, and played to
