Chapter 16

I head for the back bedroom. Since my nieces are busy getting groomed, I’ll have it to myself, at least for a while.

I kick off my shoes in the doorway, drop my skirt, wrangle my bra free from my cami, and cram the lot, along with my sweater, into the dirty laundry. Finally, I toss my backpack onto the top bunk of the right-hand bed and hoist myself after.

I flop like a starfish, and sink into the thin mattress, my limbs going limp like noodles. I exhale. I’m home. For a second, I lie on my back, staring at the ceiling two feet above me. With...