I couldn’t sleep.
Judy’s guest room was warm and comfortable, but none of that mattered. Every time I closed my eyes, I was back in my apartment, pinned against the wall, Nathan’s hands around my throat.
So I stared at the ceiling instead, listening to the sounds around me.
Around 3AM, I finally gave up on sleep and went to the living room.
Judy was already there, curled up on the couch with a blanket and her laptop.
She didn’t ask what happened. She just lifted the blanket and let me crawl under it beside her, like we were kids again. We watched movies until morning and that helped me more than any conversation could have.
By morning, Olive and Maya were there. They knew something was wrong because they spoke to me as if I was made of glass and one wrong word could shatter me.
I t
