The Guard Asked Who They Were Here to See

school?”

He shook his head.

“Because the week before I found out I was pregnant, Travis hit me.”

My mother made a small, wrecked noise.

I kept going.

“Open hand. In his truck. Because I wouldn’t quit my job and move with him to Baton Rouge. I left and never got back in a vehicle alone with him again. When I told him about the baby, I already knew I couldn’t continue reading …