Vera

The world outside the car window was a blur of shadows and moonlight. The road wound endlessly through the hills, the headlights carving a pale path through the fog that clung to the countryside like a shroud. I had stopped trying to count the minutes; time had lost all shape since Vanessa’s voice came through the phone.

“He’s here.”

Two words that had hollowed me out completely.

Every sound since then felt too loud, too sharp—the hum of the engine, the gravel under the tires, ...