Seven days later, they came back—tanned, smiling, loaded with shopping bags—expecting to find me exactly as they had left me:
silent,
broken,
waiting.
Their car pulled up just after noon.
Linda smiled first.
It didn’t last.
Ethan stepped forward and tried to unlock the door.
It didn’t open.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Ashley laughed, thinking he had the wrong key.
