I was already outside the door, my coat in one hand, while my phone was in the other. I was just texting gray to confirm where I would be meeting up when I noticed the girl. She was young, maybe sixteen or seventeen, sitting on a bench close to the house, her arms wrapped tightly around herself like she was trying to keep from falling apart.

She slowly looked up at me, her eyes wet, and her lips trembling and I could tell she'd been crying. One side of her cheeks was slightly discolored and ...