“No, no,” I insist. “I’m fine, really.”
The store shelves don’t have anything I’d want to buy for Tati, and I’m too distracted to bother asking them to order something. I’d rather just do more shopping online.
I step out of the store, the soldier trailing behind me.
“If you’re sure … ” my dad says. “I’m just ready to see you. These last few months have been—”
His words are drowned out by a deafening bang.
The phone falls from my hand, and I drop to the floor instinctively, shocked.
I’m still wondering what the sound was when I realize everyone around me is running and screaming. People are scooping up their children and sprinting in every direction, and it still takes me a few stunned seconds before I find my legs and stand up.
I spin, searching for the soldier, and that’s when I se
