Carden

their lingering presence still pricked at my skin. Edgar had wanted to say more,

as about survival now, not reliving ghosts. My hands, calloused and staine

oon diner, the air thick with stale cooking oil and desperation. The mattress sagged in the middle, a perpetual valley of my weariness. The single wind

heart jumped into my throat. Rent was due yesterday. Mrs. Hen

tightened the belt on my worn bathrobe, bracing m

r open just enough to peer through the cr

b, draped in a silk coat that probably cost more than my annual rent, her perfect blonde hair gleaming under the weak

reathed, his face

s foot jammed in the gap. He pushed it open with surpris

. Her gaze swept over the cramped space, the peeling wallpaper, the single

her voice dripping with fake pit

at my sides. "Get out," I hissed,

, theatrical gasp. "It truly is you. Edwin and I were just saying... you kn

mockery of it all. "What do you want

After all, you were declared legally deceased." Her gaze flickered around my squalid

potent it threatened to consume

to help." She paused, then placed a hand on her slightly rounded belly. "Edgar and I, we're expectin

iding my gaze, his face pale. The news hit me like a physical blow, even t

ly a whisper, but laced with an icy dismiss

k of reaction. She had expected tears, hys

have to live like this." He pulled out a thick wad of cash from his wallet, offering it to me. "And here. For a fresh start

riends catching up. We were worried about

ess card she held out. "Friends?" I laughed,

s the door. "Come on, darling. We've done our

illed with a desperate plea. "Kody misses yo

med the door shut with all my might,

nd, then at the business card. With a snarl of disgust, I tore the card into tiny pieces, letting them flutter to

olution for the wreckage they had caused. But my life, my dig