CHAPTER 17

Casey

Leaning my cheek against the shower tile was the best feeling in the world. It was so much colder than I remembered. It was as if heaven was welcoming me home.

My stomach rolled inside and out, and I was back in hell again.

I shouldn't have taken a drink of that soda. I didn't know if I should try to sit up and aim for the little shower drain, or if I should try to make it to the toilet.

Someone bellowed from far away, ripping through the depths of my painful reality.

It sounded like Dad.

Another yell tore through the house.

I moved to get up, but my energy was completely depleted, and my muscles were weak and mushy.

Footsteps pounded outside the door. They vibrated through the floor like frigging wild animals, but no one came in.

I could barely separate the cries from the shouts because everything sounded like I was deep inside a pool of white static.

My stomach rolled as I tried t