Chapter 89

Katie’s POV

It’s about one o’clock in the morning when I shake Tina’s tiny shoulder, waking her.

She jumps upright––we all do it in this house––and looks at me with saucer eyes.

“Shh…” I whisper, pressing my forefinger to her lips before she has the chance to talk.

Her eyes widened even more.

She swings her legs over the edge of her old twin bed and tears my hand away from her mouth as if knowing.

“What’s going on? Is he back? Is he drunk again?”

The words shoot like bullets from her lips, her voice still quiet, yet very much drenched in fear.

The fear that permeates...