Sunlight sliced through the window. I stared at the ceiling for a long time before the memories pieced themselves together. The basement. The darkness. Passing out. They'd tossed me in there like a broken piece of furniture they no longer had use for.
Dustin's messages sat waiting on my phone.
"Letting it slide this time. Alice's condition is unstable. You'd better not provoke her again, or I'll make sure you learn your lesson."
"I'm taking her abroad for treatment. I won't be able to go to your prenatal appointments."
I'd barely finished reading when my phone buzzed again—the notification tone I'd set for priority alerts. Alice had updated her social media.
In the photo, a man's familiar back filled the frame. A woman rested her head on his shoulder, the two of them nestled together against a backdrop of glaciers and penguins in Antarctica.
The caption was only a few words: "With you, to the ends of the earth."
I stared at that photo for a very, very long time.
When we got married, I'd made a list of all the places I wanted to visit with Dustin. Every time I brought it up, he'd say the same thing: "Sure, Cecily. Once I close this deal, we'll go."