CHAPTER 17

Dea wrapped the plaid around her and leaned back in her chair and looked outside the window of her apartment. She had always enjoyed New York City in the autumn but lately, she had struggled to see the beauty. There was a crisp bite to the late October weather and the leaves were turning crimson and gold, but all she wanted to do was stay in her apartment, behind those walls, and just sleep...

Once she got back to the States, the first days were excruciating. Dea experienced a level of physical and emotional pain she’s never experienced before. All she could think was Theo’s last words to her…

‘Get the fuck out of my life!’

She kept hearing those harsh words, awake or in her dreams, like a bad kind of mantra or something. Dea kept crying day and night, went from deep anger to desperate sadness… to total numbness… And being numb, Dea knew, was sometimes worse than being sad.

“Theo…” she whispered his name and wrapped the plaid around her worn-ou