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She shook her head and turned toward the bathroouilt and relief when she heard Sara move toward the door It clicked open

“Eventually, you have to start living again, Morgan”

That anger inside her expanded, leaving her heart pounding Out of it, sorew, and she cocked her head to the side “Living? That’s funny co from you”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Itin the sack with rando yourself at soet a pass”

Sara was silent for a fewAt least I’o away Not until it’s dealt with The difference between you and et there Eventually” Her voice lowered “But you… I’ to wither away to nothing You’ll be skin and bone and scars and just…nothing”

Morgan didn’t move Not when the door closed and she knew her sister had left Not when she heard Sara’s Suburban roar to life in the driveway She stood in the silence of her roo withpain With longing With inconsolable sadness

When she finally made it to the bathrooround and barely made it to the toilet before she vomited And there she lay until eventually she fell asleep

At twenty-seven, it was a great way to spend a Friday night

3

By Wednesdayto ad that didn’t co but work out, play Mortal Ko that didn’t involve sitting his butt in a chair and writing…well, it was inevitable Hell, just the night before, he’d watched a docu cave systehtful documentary But it was one he’d seen before, twice, actually, and still he’d put up his feet and settled in

He needed a change of scenery A reboot Or so

Cooper climbed the stairs to the old attic and reached for the door The hinges were coated in rust, so they squeaked loudly, and it took a shove or two to get the dato a standstill as he gazed around

He’d forgotten how i the amount of clutter—the antiques, the boxes, and frae o to his left and two to his right, lass, however, was frosted and the air chilled, and Cooper frowned, thinking that he should have gotten them replaced when he’d done the rest of the house the summer before

He took a few steps forward, his fingers trailing over a large frame cloaked in a heavy cover He yanked the cloth aside and noted it was a painting—a beach scene coulls, and the Atlantic Ocean He e trunk and a bunch of smaller boxes He had no idea what they held and at theout As far as he knew, ed to the McLaren fa e, a distant relative from what Cooper knew, had no interest in any of the history up here, and so all these things sat