Chapter Sixty-Three

Seeing Freda again rattled my nerves. I could barely concentrate on my work; every time I tried to think, I heard her in my head. Her cold voice sent shivers down my spine, and my heartbeat accelerated. I had been bluffing earlier when I said I did not fear her; it was only the rush of adrenaline speaking.

Now that I was calm and settled, I felt fear. It seeped through my bloodstream and attacked my heart until all I saw were illusions of Freda taking my children away from me. She had on a sinister smile, and every time I tried to fight back, I would only sip deeper into the quicksand—a trap that she had set for me to keep me from reaching my children. The more I tried to move, the deeper I sank.

And her loud laughter roared everywhere around me. It was a nightmare that I saw even with my eyes wide open and would continue to see if I did not act quick enough.

A warm hand touched me, jolting me from the daydream that I had fallen into. “Hey, are you okay?” Sally asked. “You look quit