Chapter 199

• Delilah:
• I found her on the back porch, arms crossed over the railing, eyes fixed on the trees like they held all the answers. The sky was darkening, the wind carrying the scent of storm and sorrow. This whole place felt like sorrow. It felt like pain, and I knew that it was filled with it. No matter how hard they were trying to hide or deny it, I could see it in their eyes.
• And I, for one, knew what it was to be in pain. You knew what it was to try and hide everything that you felt for the sake of others, for the sake of protecting yourself against those who opposed as your enemies.