My father texted me, ‘To us, you’re already dead,’ and I only replied,

a recess, which was a polite way of saying their side had started bleeding in public. Veronica let them leave. She knew we had enough.

Outside the conference room, Danielle caught up to me near the elevators.

“Val.”

I stopped.

Her voice shook. “I didn’t know about that. About you.”

I looked at her carefully. For once, she sounded like a person, not a performance.continue reading …