I didn’t catch everything he said, but I understood exactly what he meant, even the words that he had not said.

A part of me that had been calm for so long wavering again.

I dug my nails into my palm as I clenched my hand into a fist.

With the slight pain, I got a moment of clarity. “Are you done drying my hair?”

Richard’s fingers combed through my hair a couple more times carefully. “Yeah, almost.”

As the sound of the hair dryer stopped, the room ...