ving. My face was a calm mask, but my

s. It wasn' t a fortune, but it was everything I had, scraped together from years of tips an

me home, had left me his prized 1968 Ford pickup. It was my last physical piece of him, and selling it felt li

day," I told the

price. It was less than it was worth, but it was fast. I took the stack o

best friend, David Chen, another Marine who died in the same attack. Mark' s last letter, a crumpled piece of paper I

ty. Now, it was my lifeline. I signed the documents, paid the lawyer w

Kevin was startin

d, his voice carrying across the neat lawns of our neigh

gone?" I asked, let

your fault!" He waved a piece of paper in the air. Tiffany stood

w Tiffany, the concerned family friend. They saw the nosy neighbors, whispering about how I

led for an emergency order. Given the circumstances...

k playing on his lips. Thi

this was when I

I just nodd

Kevin' s smirk v

"I' ll sign the papers. I won' t fight yo

k out with a single, small suitcase I had packed that morning.

, from my husband, from my son, and from the