I wait until the last bell rings and the campus empties out before I finally move. My body aches from this morning's beating, but the bruises are already fading faster than they should. I need to be careful about that – can't let anyone notice how quickly I heal.
The sun is setting as I walk through the streets, my hands shoved deep in my jacket pockets. Everything Gabriel said keeps replaying in my head like a broken record. His words about Mom, about us being nothing to each other, about never accepting me even as a slave. The hatred in his voice when he said it.
Maybe he's right. Maybe we are nothing to each other.
By the time I reach downtown, it's completely dark. The neon signs of bars and clubs cast colorful shadows on the wet pavement. I stop in front of a dive bar called Murphy
