What was she supposed to do without her sister? Marianne was the one person who understood and loved her through all the hardships in her life. It was their parents’ deaths that brought them close. And now her heart ached with an emptiness that even their parents’ passing hadn’t caused. She closed her eyes and more tears slid down her cheeks. The phone rang next to her bed. She turned her head to her nightstand and mechanically lifted the phone to her ear. “H—” She cleared her throat. “Hello?” “Girl, you aren’t going to take another sick day, are you?” She groaned. “Is it Tuesday already?” “Yes.” She lifted her head and saw the time on the clock. It was midday. In the confines of her dark room, it was hard to tell day from night anymore. “Look, I can’t keep covering for you,” Alicia said in a firm but gentle voice. “You know how Hampton is. With all those people disappearing, sales have dropped and that means I have to bear the brunt of his foul mood all by myself.”
