e overgrown front yard, her hea
s wooden porch. The old floorboar
t and kicked the peeling screen door open. It
ving room, Ai
of iced lemonade. The sudden noise made her flinch, spilling
sister in Brenda's arms, her upper lip cu
sted a fractio
r eyes widened, her mouth fell open in a perfect O of s
rushed forward, her hands
er voice trembling with exaggerated so
theatrical tone. Her stomach tightened in disgust. The memories
Ainsley, her jaw
ing as she moved toward the hallway. "She's working in that sun
ping a non-existent
ely. "But things are so tight. We barely hav
rt. She ignored Ainsley and marched
wered her onto the single bed. The old mattress springs sh
anket from the foot of the bed a
Brenda warned, pointing a thick finger at Ainsley who was
er heel and stompe
The rumble of the pickup truc
n back just an inch, and watched like a hawk until Brenda's rusted truck completely disappeared around
y's face, melting away to reveal a co
bed and stood over Al
er breath. "Now I have to wash these dirty s
he soft flesh of Alissa's inner thigh, righ
hard, her manicured n
h of pain shot
amed to strike. To grab Ainsley's wrist, p
e. She didn't let her breathing hitch
nto her nervous system, using it to anch
ee agonizing seconds before le
of the bedroom. Her heels clicked sharply against the floorboards as she hea
until the cl
er eyes. The room w
ked down at her leg. A dark purple bruise
nter of the bruise. The sharp spike of pai
to assess
Ainsley was the public martyr, the saint who took car
The brother-in-law. The res
lingering touches in the hallway. The heavy, wet b
ists. She focused on the tension in h
guard for more than a minute right now. Attempting an a
o remain the victim until she had the ph
of men's dress shoes ec
ened. Kristopher
low. She closed her eyes, slowed her breathing to a s
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