hivering, but then a wave of nausea rolled over her so powerfully

noring the startled look of the doorman. She spr

sound of heavy footsteps and a fam

chine, pressing her back against the cold wall. Her hea

n the corridor, his back to h

He shouted, his voice echoing off the m

d a hand ove

n barked. "I already called the

Campbell sick? Was she pregnant?

voice dropped, losing the anger, replaced by a tone Adria r

now," he said.

be a

s shatte

He was yelling because he was worried. He w

at dinner, the cold stares-it was just frustration. At the end of the day, C

olent thud that made Adria jump, then turned and

dragged herself up. She stumbled into the res

othing came up but acid and bile. Her body was rejecting the emot

e edges of her sight. Her hands went numb, the tingl

She poured three pills into her palm-Xanax. She swallowed

ees. The smell of industrial cleaner filled her nose, remindi

me?" The child's vo

tly, rocking back and for

a hollow, cold void. This was the armor. A chemical blanket that smothered the fear, but also the joy, leaving only a vast, empty calm.

woman in the mirror looked like a corpse.

e. She took out her lipstick and applied it like

gain, Dr. Adria Barr stared bac

zzed. Adonis

mi

er head held high. She got int

the parking lot, tires screeching, heading in the

eyes and let the