NICOLE

John doesn't take his eyes off my face. All around him, the guys have gone silent.

This whole situation has gotten out of hand and now I'm starting to wonder if maybe I shouldn't have said that, especially considering how he and Ma left each other.

"I see your Ma in you," he declares after a few minutes of just silence. "But I see someone else—no doubt the bastard she cheated on me with!"

His sudden aggression scares me. He stands up and looks away from me almost in disgust, and ...