NORA
“Leave Raphael.”
The words kept circling in my head and I couldn't make them stop.
I sat at the edge of the bed wrapped in a towel, with water still dripping from the ends of my hair, and stared at the wall in front of me like it owed me something.
What if she was right?
What kind of mother even hesitates on that choice?
But what if leaving Raphael didn't actually bring my son home?
What if it was just a trap dressed up as an answer?
I pressed my palms against my eyes until small lights bloomed behind them.
"Stop," I whispered, "just stop thinking about it,"
I changed into something comfortable and lay down, staring at the ceiling, my mind still racing even though my body had finally gone weak.
I counted the cracks in the ceiling, lost the count, started over.
The
