Alessandro set me gently in the passenger seat of his car.

"Stay here, I'll be right back," he promised.

I was numb. It felt difficult to believe he would be right back, but I didn't really have the ability to do anything about it. Alessandro closed the door and disappeared back toward the motel.

I didn't want to look. I wanted to close my eyes and open them and wake up back in my apartment. I hated the feeling of these sweats on my skin. They were new, so ...