Erin's Way. Laura Browning

anything. I’m exhausted. Last night was the first night in three days I’ve had any sleep… And I didn’t sleep well.”

      “Why the MDMA downstairs then?” Jenny probed, her tawny eyes intent.

      “I thought about it,” Erin whispered. “But then I remembered Sam going through my stuff. I didn’t want to disappoint him. What a joke, huh? I’ve always been a disappointment to all of them. I’m not an addict. I need a break sometimes from my own head.” She turned away. “Leave me alone, Jenny. Make Daddy leave me alone. I want to sleep right now.”

      “All right.”

      With a nod, Jenny stood and opened the door. When it had shut behind her, Erin slid down the wall and curled up on the floor in the corner of the room. Her lip trembled, but she refused to shed a tear. Why she had expected things to be different this time, she had no idea. It was another way of setting herself up for disappointment, and there were more than enough of those already.

      She had come back because she feared for her life, and in some corner of her mind, she supposed she still associated home and safety with her parents. Or maybe she wished it were so. Erin rubbed her eyes. She was rubbing away the scratchiness from lack of sleep. Yeah.