Chapter 79

• The silence after that standoff buzzed like static in my ears. Kelly hadn’t moved yet. Neither had I. I was probably waiting for her to tie up her actions as usual.
• Rochelle had stopped thrashing, too, as if the air in the room had frozen before her. My chest rose and fell in ragged breaths, my heart still racing from the blow I’d missed and the one I had taken from her.
• Kelly’s face was unreadable now—her fury shimmered beneath a layer of deadly calm. That was more terrifying than her yelling but I remained calm. Her silence wasn’t peace. It was a storm that hadn’t struck yet. And in that moment, I understood something deeper: she wasn’t going to scream for help. She didn’t need help. She wanted to be the one to end this.