Chapter 48

• LYDIA
• Silence fills the room, slowly creeping into me like smoke. It feels alive, sneaking through my breath and squeezing my lungs until I can hardly breathe. A thought hits me like a blade to the chest — Linda is gone. She’s left me.
• The thought repeats again and again until it becomes unbearable. Panic sets in, and the next thing I know, my legs are moving before I can even think. I rush out of the room, calling for her.