In the morning the following day, Roland was still fast asleep on the bed when the sound of his phone ringing cut through the atmosphere.
He opened his eyes, turning away from the rays of sunlight streaming in through the partly open curtain to his phone on the nightstand.
He exhaled an exhausted breath, and then slowly reached for the phone.
“Lauren,” he muttered, eyebrows furrowing. It skipped his mind to check in on them last night. How did he forget?
Roland answered the phone and quickly placed it to his left ear. “Hello sis,” he said in a calm voice, but stopped almost instantly at the sound of her whimpering.
Over the phone he caught the noise of door clicking, then a loud thud. Someone was banging at a door, trying to break through.
“Roland,” Lauren’s voice tumbled out, tre
