11:59
She took a deep breath, setting the phone down gently. He was right, but trust had never come easily. Maybe that'd been a part of it. No way out because inside, where she'd still been a child, believing in someone else was not an option.
Closing her eyes, his face came back to her. All those times. Opportunities. He would've helped, if he'd known the truth. Under the hard-core exterior, she'd felt his … what? Her mouth curled up derisively. Innate goodness? Some pure streak of morality?
12:00
She couldn't tell anyone.
A long howl undulated through the night.