After Mark left, Katty stayed seated at the kitchen table.
Mark.
And Baby Bea. She’d followed him to the front door with Noell. Bea loved him.
Sigh. Katty blinked and squirmed on her chair. The creak of the chair seemed to talk to her—convicting her. Maybe she loved him, too. Or at least she was attracted to him. But who was she to be loved by a man like Mark?
Mom was back. Katty’s chest caved in on itself and she could hardly breathe. The stuff Mom had just screamed at her was still true.
Something she hadn’t felt in a long time crushed her heart. An undeniable need to run away from Mom, even from Noell—everything, everyone. Maybe even Bea. Fear enveloped her. Strangled her. Chained her. Those words wrapped around her and choked her. “You are a s**t. w***e. You always were a slut.”
