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Back We're All in This Together
Chapters (46)
  1. Cover
  2. Other Titles
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Friday
  7. ONE
  8. TWO
  9. THREE
  10. FOUR
  11. Saturday
  12. FIVE
  13. SIX
  14. SEVEN
  15. EIGHT
  16. NINE
  17. TEN
  18. Sunday
  19. ELEVEN
  20. TWELVE
  21. THIRTEEN
  22. FOURTEEN
  23. FIFTEEN
  24. SIXTEEN
  25. SEVENTEEN
  26. EIGHTEEN
  27. NINETEEN
  28. TWENTY
  29. TWENTY-ONE
  30. TWENTY-TWO
  31. TWENTY-THREE
  32. TWENTY-FOUR
  33. TWENTY-FIVE
  34. Monday
  35. TWENTY-SIX
  36. TWENTY-SEVEN
  37. TWENTY-EIGHT
  38. TWENTY-NINE
  39. THIRTY
  40. THIRTY-ONE
  41. THIRTY-TWO
  42. THIRTY-THREE
  43. THIRTY-FOUR
  44. THIRTY-FIVE
  45. EPILOGUE
  46. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Nicki slams the fridge door. “I have to work tomorrow.” She finally turns to Finn, and Finn can see the worry on her face. She doesn’t have to read her mind because they’re having the exact same thoughts. It’s what she does now. The problem is, neither of them knows why.

“Thanks for waiting up,” Finn says, but Nicki is already halfway down the hallway, her fuzzy leopard-print slippers scuffing along the floor.

Sunday

ELEVEN

6 a.m.

Katriina wakes up and she is alone.

The room is dark, and she can hear the ticking of her watch, a metronome that she unconsciously has timed her breath to match. She rolls onto her back and stares at the ceiling. Normally it would be starting to get light by now, but this morning is grey and dark, and she can hear rain pelting against the bedroom window. No one has turned on the air conditioner, and she can feel matted, sweaty strands of hair sticking to the back of her neck, the sheets damp as she frees one leg from her nest and kicks it up over the top. She feels oddly buoyant without Shawn’s weight beside her, drawing the mattress down.

Shawn’s side of the bed is still neatly made, in contrast to its usual chaotic mess – pillows askew, fitted sheet coming undone at the corner, duvet kicked down to the foot of the bed. He didn’t come home last night. She lets the thought roll around in her head for a few minutes, unencumbered by meaning. Is he having an affair? But she casts the thought aside – he would never give her the satisfaction. Maybe he spent the night at Victor Street, or at the restaurant, or at the hospital. All of those places, apparently, are preferable to coming home and spending the night with his wife.