for what fe

phalt was a declaration.

e her. The driver, a man with a kind, weath

iss? It's a lon

without h

looked at her reflection for the first time. Her face was pale and smudged with dirt,

alue left on her. The

hind the counter eyed her suspiciously, then eyed the r

g it off her finger. It

she bought a bus ticket. Des

t a cheap, di

ne she'd kept scribbled on a faded piece of paper

heep of the family who had run off to Cali

art hammered against her ribs. What if

" The voice was

voice cracked. "It's...

Not of confusion,

er tone softening immed

her. The tears she hadn't shed on the mountain, in the truck, at the

sobbed. "Some town

ling chaos. "Stay right where you are. Send me your location.

e

d was a

oman on the other end was gentle, asking questions Clare an

ent was for

d. A text from a numbe

swer me. This isn

as

the pawn shop. He

her

ou for the ring, I'll tr

t he coul

t, this one

sick. We all are. Don't do somet

was almost funny. We. There it was a

She thought about all the pain, the humiliation. She thought about

e reply, not to C

d thank you. F

it in half, and dropped it into the trash

curb. The driver, a man in a sharp suit,

gs? Ms. Rho

l against her skin. It was a worl

, she didn't look back