*Eric*

I want to hold her forever.

Hattie buries her face in my chest, arms locked around me like she's afraid I'll vanish again. And part of me wants to vanish, to be invisible, so that I don't have to speak the words that will break hearts.

But the moment doesn't last----

"No...."

The word is barely a whisper, riding on a breath of disbelief. Mrs. Monroe is standing on her porch, her apron stained rusty blood red. Her hands are full of rags and ...