Aryyah arrived at Cletus's workshop just as the sun was setting, the sky painted in deep oranges and purples that she barely noticed; she parked on the street and sat in her car for a moment, her hands gripping the steering wheel, trying to process everything that had happened that day, everything she had said to Jackson, everything she had walked away from.

When she finally got out and walked to the door, Cletus was already there, having heard her car pull up; he opened the door before she ...