y chest tight

ough tearing

was

a hand t

y, there was blood o

nd sharp, sho

ow. N

om the bedroom door, tow

han' s name flash

bled with the

ed, my voice we

p, impatient, but with an undercurr

ll," I whispered, lea

cough, m

What's

akable now. It was a p

d drop everything

wanted to tell h

st... i

ne wen

, I heard his foots

the hallway,

aw the blood

ar

my side, hi

ll cake box from a b

ry tart. M

reme

kay?" His hands hovered,

or a fleeting second, his

with a terrib

. This momentary l

fix it.

a weak, s

You should s

d on a tissue

t' s just

nonchalant, lik

For drama. You know

concern vanished, repl

s voice was l

e strawberry ta

iolent movement, he th

, cream and strawberries slidi

his is funny

my concern

ith a fresh wave

, you still play

ing, his fi

h you, Sarah? What

ting and the crash, darte

questioning sound, r

, then back at me, his

sight," he spat

ck towards the master be

ed through the

Leo purring anxious

d down my fac

. He hate

f was a b

he following day

in the city apartmen

he bleeding, the worsening p

, sometimes looked at m

man, caught in

n for years, had see

me in the garden, strugg

gently, "are you alr

ssively. "Just tired

n seeing a lot of Ms. Moreau lately.

ble, like he was bet

oung. Am

ng me. Tryin

his needs. As long as the checks keep coming,

inted. He probably th

at was t

had to see this throu