Chapter 32

I clutched her hand through the security gate; it was ice cold and bonier than I remembered it being the last time I had held it.  She leaned in against the gate and I ran my other hand over her bruised face through the bars. 

“Open up.” I said softly. 

She pulled back a few inches, the fear returning to her eyes.  She shook her head.  “No.  I can’t.” 

“Why not?” I asked. 

She peered past me down the long hallway towards the stairwell.  “You have to go!”

“I’m not going anywhere.” I replied.  “Not without you.” 

She smiled.  It was a shadow of the smile I once knew... but there it was, beneath her façad...

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