“Lori,” he said, irritated, “Lisa’s just trying to be nice. You and Enid upset her so badly yesterday she was in pain all night, couldn’t even nurse Eddy. And she still hasn’t held it against you. The least you could do is not make this harder.”
He must’ve forgotten the walls in that house were paper thin. I’d heard everything the night before—their moaning, their whispered promises, the sound of their bodies tangled in something sickening.
The memory made my stomach churn, but I swallowed the bile and gave a small nod. I didn’t have the strength to fight—at least not right then.
At the mall, Malissa stayed latched to Milford’s arm the entire time, parading him like a trophy. He wore his tailored suit like it was armor; she floated beside him in a designer gown that probably cost more than my old car. They basked in the praise of the store clerks, soaking up the attention like royalty.
Meanwhile, I limped behind them in a faded, off-brand dress that had seen better days—if it had ever seen one at all. I caught the judgment in the eyes of the staff, the sneers they didn’t bother hiding. I wasn’t supposed to be there, not in their world.