Chapter 288

Light poured into the small bedroom of the trailer, illuminating the space just enough for Dalton to see the pattern of the comforter that covered the bed. He shifted, trying to get comfortable, but he couldn't. He missed Mandy, missed her softness next to him, and missed the tiny noises she made in her sleep.

He didn't stay here often anymore, but he needed some place to think and lick his wounds. His eyes focused on the juncture where the curtain almost met the roughly carpeted floor. The light played on the threadbare rug as the curtain moved back and forth, the breeze from the air conditioner kicking on and off, pushing it this way and that. He'd been staring at it for hours, searching for answers to questions he never thought he'd have to find. In those hours, he still had no answers. Turning over, he heard the metal of his cut clicking against the metal of his belt. He hadn't even gotten undressed. What was the point when he didn't really have a home? Even at almost thirty year