Chapter 18 Raelynn

• The week dragged on, each day a slow, agonizing slide into a pit of regret and confusion. Raelynn had become a ghost in her own life, avoiding her phone as if it were a bomb, refusing to answer her mother's calls, and ignoring the barrage of texts from Brad. She was hiding, and she knew it. She was running from a truth she couldn't outrun.
• On Friday afternoon, a hard, insistent knock on the apartment door jolted her from her stupor. Her heart leaped into her throat. She wondered who it was. The knock was too confident, too demanding. She hesitated, her hand hovering over the doorknob.
• The knock came again, louder this time. She took a deep breath, steeling herself, and opened the door.