PAULA’S POV

Before the accident…

I sat low in the rental van’s passenger seat, the one that my cousin gave us. The city, a smear of sodium lights through the tinted windows. My fingers drummed a nervous rhythm on my thigh, the sting still fresh from my last line. Mark kept glancing at me, like I’m a live wire he’s afraid to touch.

“Where is she?” I snapped, louder than I meant to. “You said she’d be back an hour ago.”

Mark shrugged, voice thin with nerves. “Maybe ...