Viv:
The desert sun was relentless, even in the early afternoon, but I didn’t mind it today. Not when I had a car full of girls giggling in the backseat and an actual shopping list tucked in my bag. I glanced in the rearview mirror—Sadie, Mica, Beth, and Gia were crammed together like they'd been best friends for years instead of survivors who had only just started to breathe again. Callie was sitting up front with me in the passenger seat flipping through the radio.
Gia had her head out the window, letting the wind whip her hair around. Beth was braiding Sadie’s curls while Mica made up a ridiculous song about snacks we needed to buy. I hadn’t heard laughter like that in so long, especially not the real kind—the kind that wasn’t hiding anything behind it.
It was music.
We pulled into
