The longer I stared at myself in the mirror, the more hesitant I felt about going to work, but Mali’s staffing and my bank account were both running short, so staying home wasn’t an option. I did what pre-Kael Karina would do and dabbed concealer under my eyes, put my hair up, and got dressed. I wore all black to accentuate my mourning and appreciated the morning’s clouds and rain as accompaniment to my mood.

Elodie was still asleep on the couch when I went into the kitchen. I was going to eat a bowl of cereal and make a pot of coffee with the little bit of time I had before work, but I didn’t want to wake her up. Instead, I opened my back door and took a breath, letting the humid air fill my lungs. I closed my eyes and listened only to the rain, letting my thoughts float away with the clouds, until my phone alarm started to vibrate in my uniform pocket. Everything would be fine. Time for work had come, yay. I had left my umbrella leaning against the dryer. I grabbed it and, holding the back door ajar, I tempted fate by opening the umbrella inside the kitchen. Bad luck, but who gives a fuck! At this point, why did that matter? Things couldn’t possibly get worse for me. I rolled my eyes at how dramatic I was being and walked out the door. I thought of Kael when I looked at the lock, and damn it all to hell, I locked the door.

I walked around the side of my house and halfway across the yard before something caught my eye. Kael’s truck was parked in the street in front of my house. Is he really here again? Maybe he had parked and gone somewhere . . . or was he waiting there for someone? I couldn’t tell and thought for a moment to just keep walking past, as if I didn’t notice. The rain felt like it picked up as I passed his truck at a safe distance. I could barely see him through the rain falling on the glass, but could make out the same gray sweatshirt he was wearing when he came here last night.