Avery's Point of View
My legs felt like lead as I walked down the quiet hallway toward Jasmine's room.
Each step was heavier than the last. The hallway stretched long and dark, with Rhett's tall shadow looming in the foyer behind me. He wasn't yelling anymore. He didn't have to. The quiet certainty in his voice was far more terrifying than any shouting match we’d ever had.
I paused at her bedroom door, resting my forehead against the cool wood.
How was I supposed to explain this to a five-year-old? How could I tell her that the tall, intimidating man she knew as "the hockey captain" was actually her father? That the life she knew—just the two of us, safe and quiet—was changing forever?
I wiped the tears from my cheeks, smoothed down my sweater, and opened the door.
Jasmine was sittin
