“Were you outside?” Michael was standing on the landing, hair ruffled, eyes bleary with sleep. “Uh…” Bex stammered. “I woke up early. Couldn’t sleep.” She thumbed over her shoulder. “I thought maybe a walk would be good.” Michael nodded, yawned, and brushed past her. “You want coffee?” “I’m actually going to try to see if I can get back to sleep now. Get in another hour before I have to wake up for school.” She padded up the stairs, the thunk of her heart mirroring the thunk of her footsteps. She peeled off her clothes and slid into bed, for the first time that she could remember, feeling light. Bex’s phone went off before her alarm clock did. “’Lo?” “Bex?” She sat up ramrod straight, all thoughts of drifting back into sleep-filled oblivion gone. “Detective Schuster.”
