*Charlotte*
Jessica’s words hung in the air between us like the moment before lightning struck. I could see her trembling, tears swimming in her eyes as she pulled her arms around herself like she was trying to protect herself from a rain of blows.
Her fear and despair were visceral.
And I knew that look- that fear as intimately as it was my own because I’d seen it over and over again. Felt it myself back when I was still indebted, betrayed, and angry at the world and myself for the situation I’d been thrust into. Trapped in a place that only wanted to take what it could from me and leave me a shell of myself.
Terrified of what would become of me when night fell and there was no one to see me if I disappeared.