I could feel their eyes on my back, a hundred tiny daggers of judgment. Keifer's gaze was the heaviest of

ed. I shut the door and turned the lock, the click echoing in the silence. My body felt like

ut my phone. I found Dr. Evans

n the second

Tell me the truth. No more 'it varies.'

he line. I could hear the rustle of papers,

a desperate edge to

test cell degradation analysis... the most aggressive

numb fingers. It landed

mo

ty

ptiness of my mind. A countdown.

nd silent. Not for the family downstairs, not for the husband who despised me. They wer

he hallway outside m

eath, listen

weight of someone standing just beyond

pressed my ear to the wood, straining

ustle of fabric. The whisper

e's d

. She must have followed me

eath hitched-just slightly-as if she had heard something that pleased her. And then, s

urned my bl

ht. Almost skipping. The whisper of he

downstairs, not clearly-the music and chatter from the party filtered up in a muffled blur.

eet and loud enough to carry: "I think she just wants to be alone righ

the party. I could picture it perfectly-the way she'd loop her arm through his, tilt her head just so

eath I hadn't realiz

p from the floor, my limbs stiff and cold. I walked to t

er face was pale, her eyes shadowed with a des

red in their depths. A spark. A tiny,

mo

here. I would not spend it being their punching b

terrifying and liberatin

ve. And I was neve