I fling the door open so hard it smacks the wall. My body is shaking and the plan is not well thought out. I rush down the stairs and out into the cold, cold night. I zip my coat, pull on my hat, and walk to the bus stop on the corner. I want to walk it off—standing still is enough to drive me crazy—but it’s far, and it’s dark, and out here by myself it no longer feels like a good idea to have left.

I huddle in the corner of the bus hut with my back against the glass. The street is deserted. Zeke lives far from the action, but not far enough. Sirens wail in the distance. Smoke rises over the buildings. The acrid smell of it comes wafting through now and again.

I’m on alert—a woman alone in the dark. I sense him coming almost as soon as he steps out of the building. His shoulders are hunched, his hands tucked into his jeans. In the split second that passes before I’m sure it’s him, my heart rate doubles. I pull deep breaths to calm down, but knowing it is him isn’t calming at the moment.

He steps into the street lamplight. “If you won’t stay, at least let me drive you home.”

If I stay, won’t I be holding you back? It’s on the tip of my tongue, but I’m out of energy. I can only gaze at him there in the barest glow of light. His cheeks are shiny. He sounds congested. Maybe it is all too much for him, too.

“Come on, I’ll drive you.”

“I don’t want to talk anymore,” I answer. The wounds to my heart are flowing, throbbing. I wish Zeke would put his hands to them, try to stem the damage.

“Me either,” he says. “Just let me drive you. Please.”

JENNICA

Kimberly comes in crying so loud, I can hear it all the way in my bedroom. I throw back the covers, rush to the door. There is no sleeping on a night like this anyway.

She is on her knees on the tile, still in her coat and hat and gloves. Her pink button screams UNARMED!

“Oh, my god.” I kneel in front of her. “Are you hurt? I mean, are you injured?” Obviously she is hurt. We don’t know what it means to not be.