Chapter 43

“Leila …” the forceful voice of a woman yelled into my ear. “Leila, wake up! We have to make the funeral arrangements!”

Groggy, I forced my eyelids to open as sunlight streamed in through the window, too bright.

“Leila!”

“Leave her alone,” a male voice said. “She’s been through a lot.”

Yes, that was Rodger, Steven’s father. I was suddenly wide awake as I sat straight up in bed. Suddenly, the events of the night before flooded into my mind. My God! Lance! I quickly looked around, but he was nowhere to be found. “What on Earth are you doing in my bedroom? How did you get here?”

“Leila, stop being so dramatic,” Stephanie said, pulling my clean clothes from the closet. Then, she headed toward my underwear drawer. “Our plane just arrived and we rented a car.”

“I would have picked you up …”

“Now, Leila,