"No more stalling. Tell me or forget about sleeping!" Margaret persisted.
"Just five more minutes, Mom..." Laura mumbled.
"Just tell me," Margaret repeated. Despite her protests, Laura found herself pulled upright, squinting at her mother's eager face. The memory of Justin's gentle touch from the previous night surfaced, bringing an involuntary smile to her lips.
Margaret pounced on the expression. "Something good happened, didn't it? That smile says it all!"
"It's not... We're just getting reacquainted after all this time. We need space to figure things out." Laura deflected, uncomfortable with the interrogation. Romance was the last thing on her mind. The situation with Paul remained volatile. After last night's humiliation, ending with him coughing up blood, retaliation seemed inevi
