ssa

suffocating silence of my truck. The screen lit up with a famil

It would have meant another frantic negotiation, another round of begging for an ext

, cold emptiness had settled wher

y voice surprisingly s

. "I'm calling about Joshua Casey's outstanding balance for his preliminary

een on my hands and knees, scrubbing a bloodstain from a hardwood floor, and I had wept while pleading with h

ber," I said,

motion. "Well, the extension is up. We need payment immediate

nightmare for half a decade. I used to wake up in a cold

m of sugar pills and saline drips? A progra

"My understanding was that this was the final amount due befo

ed like ash

said impatiently. "Mr. Smith-your husband-usually hand

ing, and he had left me to beg and scrape for a measly five thousand dollars. It wasn't because

done b

aid calmly. "I will no longer be ha

n the other end. "Ma'am? I do

ss in my voice surprising even myself. "Things have changed. Send

respond, tossing the phon

oked impeccable in a tailored suit that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. When he saw me, a flicker of surprise

doing here? I was about to call you

movements fluid and charming

id, my voice devoid of any war

I used to find so endearing. "Are you oka

before his finger

annoyance?-crossed his features before be

uld say

standing to face him. He was taller than me, his pr

soft. "You shouldn't have to drive all this way

d just fall back into line, the loving, exhausted woman who liv

an hour ago in a

scent of his cologne. For years, I had scrubbed and saved and sacrificed, believing I was figh

in no uncertain terms, t

t but firm. "I don't think

t are you talking about, Alyssa? Do

in my bones, in my soul. Tired of the

agreed. "So tire

uilding, my best friend was playing mother to my son, and the man I loved was pla

t mask of loving worry. "Come on, let's go insid

rtless, so practice

-