22“Mom, I don’t want to change schools!” Cameron shouted deeply, projecting his voice from his belly in an attempt to sound like his father. In his rage, he nearly succeeded. Sidney leaned against the counter bordered with colorful paper pencils, massaging her forehead. She flinched at the similarity and at how his voice carried through his school office. She leaned down to shush him, quelling her desperation.“I know, Cam, baby,” Sidney said. “But it’s the only way we can be safe.”“We’re already moving! Why isn’t that enough?” Fat tears spilled from his eyes to dribble down his angry cheeks.Sidney reached out toward him, to calm him, to quiet him, to comfort him. He retreated away from her, growing in his anger and stomping hard. He pulled back until his heels butted into the thick, large wooden chest that served as the lost and found, sleeves and legs of abandoned clothes reaching out desperately for their neglectful owners.“I wish it was enough, baby.” The guilt thic

24The new house was too quiet, as if the boxes lining the room absorbed the sound and sucked up the air around Sidney. She felt like she could not breathe so alone, in such oppressive silence. Sidney stood uneasy inside the front door, shoes squeaking on the tile under her, fingers fidgeting in her keys. She did not know how to be alone in this new place, her place. She could not stand how loud it all seemed in silence. Cameron and Savannah not giggling as they ran through the hallways chasing each other.Kendra not in the kitchen pouring a glass of wine and talking about her ex-husband.No one. Nothing. Just unfamiliar rooms filled with Sidney’s possessions hastily crammed into wilted boxes.When Brady and Jordan ran out of enthusiasm for moving furniture and even free pizza could not rekindle them, Sidney had told them she would be fine. When she kissed Adam goodbye in the departure drop-off lane at the airport, she had told him she would be fine. She was not fine. N

26The trail grew darker as Sidney ran across the dirt in a panic. She craned her neck to glare at the creek behind her. When she turned back, the night blotted out the light to consume her. The nightmare became only the sound of her crunching footfalls. She sprinted blindly into the black. Then the streetlight appeared. She leaped toward the light, and when her foot landed in the circle of illumination, the ground went liquid beneath her. Her shoe vanished beneath the gravel like quicksand. Before she could stop it, her other foot followed. The ground swallowed her feet, slurping greedily to her waist. She could not move her legs or fight against the pressure crushing her beneath the surface. She screamed and howled into the empty night, clawing desperately at the dirt as it climbed her body. As the edge reached her chest, something crashed down on top of her, pushing her deeper into her struggle.Kendra’s limp and lifeless corpse landed on her head, blocking out the streetli

28“Don’t say it,” Sidney mumbled as she approached Brady. She could already see the sympathetic, assessing look in his eye as he tipped his thin-rimmed sunglasses. He leaned his yoga mat against the glass windows of the studio and snatched her into a hug. She clutched him tightly for a moment then stepped back.“Say what?” he asked, innocently.“That I look like hell.”“Oh honey, you already know.” He smiled playfully. “And it doesn’t matter. It only matters if you’re OK, and I’m glad you came out this morning. Have you left the house since it happened?”Sidney shook her head. “I haven’t been able to. The store is still closed. Cameron is still with Aiden. I’m not really eating. So there hasn’t been a reason to.”“Well, you have a reason today.” Brady stooped to gather his yoga mat onto his hip. “We are going to breathe through all this bullshit and find your center.”“What if there is nothing good at my center?” Sidney said before catching the words on her tongue.Brady tur

30“Holy shit, my girl nearly beat her stalker to death!” Brady exclaimed. He bounced excitedly across the pavement, escorting Sidney down the street from the police station. Sidney chuckled to herself and picked at the clothes that were not hers, a strange folded stack the officer provided when collecting her clothing as evidence. The cloth rubbed against her skin in unfamiliar patterns, draped from her shoulders in foreign angles.“Brady, stop,” Jordan scolded from Sidney’s other side. “This is not something to celebrate.”“Fuck you, it’s not! Some asshole from the internet stalks our girl, attacks our girl, takes her kid, kills Kendra, then comes for our girl. Then our girl almost kills this fucker!” Brady refused to contain his vibrating blend of glee and pride.“Almost,” Sidney echoed, not sure if she was smiling or grimacing.“I can’t believe you managed to stop yourself, Sid,” Brady continued, breathless. “I don’t think I could have after Kendra.”“I didn’t,” Sidney said