Chapter 22

Louise had gone upstairs with that proud look on her face, but the moment her bedroom door clicked shut behind her, it felt like all the strength had been sucked right out of her body. Her legs gave in and she slid down against the door. Sitting on the cold floor, Louise curled up, arms wrapped tightly around herself, trying to find even a sliver of warmth in that small space. After what felt like forever, she finally pushed herself up and walked to her bedroom. She opened a drawer, grabbed the first-aid kit, and started tending to the cut on her arm carefully. The cut from that ashtray wasn't even three centimeters long-barely a scratch really. After surviving three years in prison, a wound like this was nothing to Louise. Practically invisible. But even so, she couldn't stop blinking while she sat at the edge of the bed, as if she could somehow blink the tears back into her eyes. When she was done with the wound, she leaned back against the pillows, reached for her phone, and unlocke