I didn’t cry until I got home, a cloudburst of fear and relief. I had accidentally left my chat window open in my excitement to leave—I deleted it and turned the computer off, as if somehow Theo could come into my room and get me. I felt like I couldn’t breathe so I grabbed my hat and coat to go to the roof.
I threw open the rooftop on a wide sky and sucked in a lungful of air. Up here, I could finally breathe. I marveled at the sky. Even in the city, the stars were bright enough to mesmerize. A lone cloud shone in the light of a half-moon and watching it drift calmed me down. I sat on the plastic milk crate someone had left against the wall of the elevator wheelhouse. If I sat long enough, I could shake off the evening, make like it never happened. My lungs burned a little from all the r
