I sat on the edge of my bed, the clock on the nightstand ticking toward eight o’clock. Just a few more hours before the grid would go dark in the Rust Belt.
"You’re a freak, Eloise! You hear me? A delusional, violent freak!"
The voice came through the thick door, muffled but sharp with hate. Isabelle. She hadn't gone to the hospital. She was still here, her voice nasal and wet from the blood and the bandages.
"You think you’re so much better than us because you played house with a mechanic?" she shrieked, followed by a series of curses.
"Look at my nose! You shattered it! I hope they kill all your friends, especially your boyfriend. I hope they torture him long before they kill him."
I didn't answer. I was on my knees, frantically searching my bedside table's drawers. My fingers brus
