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It was rounded, drywalled, textured and painted Feeling like a zombie, she walked down the hall to the archway Stood and stared

The room was finished The porcelain tile she’d picked out for the floor was laid and grouted exactly as she’d pictured it, only better Her furniture had been delivered It wasn’t arranged exactly as she’d planned, but it looked good Inviting

For what she noticed Because she couldn’t really focus on flooring or furniture She couldn’t take her eyes off the far wall It was supposed to have been painted a sand color It s instead, looking out over a newly planted garden with a rock waterfall She could see it all, in spite of the darkness outside, because of the landscape lighting that had been installed

But even that didn’t hold her attention She couldn’t stop staring at the portion of the wall above the s

It was asun there were three cloud-like forms—a tall, broad one, another that was a little shorter and more slender and then a tiny one The tiny one see toward the slender one She knew she was just iures in the clouds But every time she looked back, there they were

She’d been standing there five minutes or nized Jeo where the return address should be

A final bill?

It was so like hireed to do To finish his business, leave the key and go silently on his way He also wasn’t one to make waves Unless you counted the ones painted beneath her sunset

She wasn’t going to open the envelope Didn’t want to spoil theof cost owed But she’d also never been one to avoid hard tasks She ho she was So she picked up the envelope and pulled out the pages inside

And fell down to the couch

The stop sheet was official all the way A restraining order Against Tressa Bridges Protected persons were Jerees

The second sheet was official, too A police report delineating all threats against Lacey As well as a timeline of how she’d coes

The third sheet She could barelyher vision

It was a single piece of plain white paper, with childish scrawl in aard, uneven letters She made out the word Levi

The fourth page was easier to readif she could just quit crying long enough