Vonda woke up with pain in several places. It's no wonder it took her quite a while to open her eyes. A beam of light hit Vonda's retinas. Reflexively, she blinked her eyes again for a moment until she felt ready to take in the morning surroundings. And the first thing Vonda did when she opened her eyes again was to look sideways.

Empty. Vonda took a long breath. Her eyes blinked and she finally took a deep breath. Strange. But there was something that felt like a lump in her throat. As if something was pressing against her heart.

“He's gone home.”

Vonda's voice sounded weak as she said...