nna

cold against my

el words echoing in my head. The humiliation felt like a physic

home. To crawl int

myself and kept my head down, hu

han

he evening rush. I fr

om behind a concrete pl

Yates. My e

was a mess, and there were dark circles under h

he said, his voice a mixture

shed over me. I didn't have t

about, Cristopher," I sai

and shooting out to grab my arm.

know I messed up. Just

to wrench my arm free. His touch

us glances from passersby. Crist

tening painfully. "You can't just

dewalk. In the scuffle, my shoulder bag slipped fro

pstick rolled into the gutter. My keys skittered

inst the gray pavement, was

pill. I'd shoved it in a side pocke

s eyes lock

nd bent down, snatchi

his expression twisting from desperate

he words like venom. "So there r

e a trophy, like irrefut

lunging for the box. This was a night

using his other hand to poin

houted, his voice cracking.

d shame blurred my vision. The stares of the strange

inside m

I screamed, shoving

ckward, tripping over the curb a

ng with a violence that terrified me.

entley glided to a silent

window slid down

art s

n the backseat, his fac

seen ev

enraged face, my tear-streaked one, and finally, coming to re

my lie abou

was seeing

was a cold, dark void of absolute cert

hated m