a terrifying fall. He clutched the frame of his seat, his knuckles white, his fac

had thrown him from the rocks, again and again, into the churning water below. The impact, the shock of the cold, the feeling o

? What' s wrong?" she started to a

g a hand on Alex' s shoulder. "Alex, I heard you used to l

lex bit his lip to keep from crying out. He tightened his jacket, desperate to hide the faint scent of blood that he was sure was seeping through the f

look at either of them. "Yes," he r

made sense, was easier to accept than the alternative.

on, the place he once called home,

tten

had given him, always used to greet him at the door, wi

"Oh, Alex, I' m sorry. Olivia and I moved in together after our eng

pected an outburst, a flash of the old, defiant Alex. That ca

deep-seated fear. "No, thank you," he said, his voice barely a wh

ushed down the unease that followed. "Here, sweetie," she said, grabb

ld down, a funnel forced into his mouth, can after can of soda poured down his throat until it burned and

anymore?" Olivia' s voic

d gulped it down, forcing the painfully sweet liquid past the raw tissues of h

ser. "Darling, don' t be so har

on she couldn' t name. "You spoil him," she chuckled, leaning into David' s embrace, but her g

about the cat. He would have pushed David away, jealous of Olivia' s affection for another. This new Alex was a ghost, a hollowed-out versio

e," she said, her voice soft

f pure dread down his spine. It was in that room, just outside her door,

head. "No... no need. I'

ggage and walked past the grand staircase, heading for the guest room in

ith the zipper on his bag and pulled out a small, heavy metal box. Inside, it was filled with quarters and dimes. All the money he had ea

gan to count. His fingers, clumsy and scarred, so

er. He had her address, memorized like a prayer. This money, this pile of shame and degradation, was his ticket out. H