It’d been tight packed, but slow ticking with furious activity, then stretched wide with endless zones of nothing except waiting and not knowing. Not knowing if Stud would trust her. Not knowing if she’d need a lawyer. Not knowing if she’d ever see Sean again or what would happen next. When her adrenaline crashed what seemed like hours after Stud left her, she put her head on her arms on the table. Those rivulets of salty water that ran inside the crook of her elbow were tears she couldn’t hold back any longer; tears of guilt and exhaustion, and relief that the running and hiding was over. She must’ve slept because when she next sat up her satchel and overnight bag were in the room. She searched for her watch. Her wallet and the new phone were gone, so were her keys. It was six in the morning. Cowering in the corner, suspicious of hidden cameras, she swapped Tracy’s shirt for a bra and a t-shirt. She’d have given anything for a shower, or just the chance to wash her face.
