I had gone back to Ramona’s villa later that evening, and when I arrived, the villa was quiet. It wasn’t the kind of quiet that was peaceful; it was the kind that settled in your bones before you even heard a voice. I didn’t know what I expected walking back in here after a day like this, after what I’d done, after where I’d been, but I didn’t expect the air to feel this heavy. 

And I definitely didn’t expect her to be the first person I saw. 

“Back already?” Ramona’s ...