LORETTA

Only when I heard his footsteps going down the hallway did I stop crying.

I stayed where I was for another few seconds, sitting on the cold floor with my back pressed against the bedroom door, listening. One step, and another, and nothing. Silence settled in my bedroom, broken only by the sound of my occasional sniffing

A shaky breath let me, my cheeks felt tight from dried tears. I wiped them with the back of my hand, only for fresh ones to replace them almost instantly.

“Get yourself together, Loretta,” I tried to order my brain. I was tired of crying, tired of begging, tired of feeling like...