Dead Weight
A whiteboard divided into WEATHER, MOVEMENT, SUPPLIES, CONTACTS, THREATS.
Under CONTACTS, she writes:
Priya — apartment, mother with her. Carol — home, vehicle, competent. Pete — unknown, loud, useful. Hannah — listening. Denise — probably terrifying someone into washing their hands.
Then she adds: Dex — do not contact.
She caps the marker hard enough to make the lid complain.
Emotional truth: she wonders if he is alive.
Deflection: wonderful, abandonment trauma with push notifications.
Sharper truth: alive or dead, he is no longer hers to manage.
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