The bar wasn't as lively and lively as the club Hope was staying at but it was nice enough for a small town. The music was soft, and the people there were friendly. As she drank her second drink of the night Hope sat on a sofa near a window that allowed her to look at the city lights and street below her, people walking around the sidewalks, enjoying the fresh air. The place seemed like a perfect match for the atmosphere that Hope felt inside, the calm before the storm.

Hope took a sip from her glass again and looked outside of the window, she couldn’t see anything but...