I was sweating again and had relived Hope’s abduction one more time, yet I hadn’t seen anything new. I had tried, but I hadn’t broken through that barrier that distinguished Hope from me. I knew I would get it with more practice, but that still meant waking up terrified each morning. Sometime during the night, I had thrown the covers off me, so they were now doubled up in a heap on my mother’s sleeping body. I fumbled around for my phone on the nightstand and prayed it hadn’t woken anyone else. Robin stirred from the bed next to mine. I looked over at my mother on my own bed. She was still sound asleep. I turned the volume on my phone to silent so I wouldn’t wake anyone and then checked the text I’d just received. Rise and shine! It was from Emma. What? I replied. I looked around the room. It was still dark. The only light seeped in through the curtains from a nearby street lamp.
