“s**t. Varya, get away from him. Slowly,” Felix barks from somewhere on the right. “Everybody out. Now.”
One deep breath. Then another. It doesn’t help. It feels like I’m going to explode. I hear people leaving and the door closing, but the sounds are mixed with ringing in my ears. The need to destroy something, anything, overcomes me as rage keeps building and building within.
The girl in my arms stirs and moves her head to the left, burying her face in my neck. Her breath on my skin feels like butterfly wings. The flashback fades. She sighs, then coughs. I open my eyes and look down at her, searching for signs of distress, but she seems okay.
I lean back in the recliner to make her more comfortable, pull the blanket over her bony shoulder, and notice my hand has stopped shaking. Tilti
