Elle
My heels clicked against the scuffed floor as I headed for the stairs. The elevator had been "temporarily out of order" for months - another casualty of tight budgets.
Second floor. Third. Fourth.
Each step brought back memories. Me doing homework in the break room while Mom worked late. The Christmas we decorated the lab with paper chains because we couldn't afford real decorations. Her teaching me to use a microscope, her voice gentle as she explained how something so small could change everything.
Just like the cancer cells that nearly killed me at twelve.
I paused outside her office, stomach churning. The frosted glass still had that crack in the corner from when I'd slammed the door too hard after another fight when I was in high school. Back then, she'd been furious about me choosing art over science.
Now? Now I'd done something far worse.
Sarah's desk was empty - Mom's secretary was probably at lunch. Just as well - I didn't need an audience for this.
The daily schedule o
