For a while, nobody spoke.
The living room seemed too small for the silence inside it.
Grey sat forward on the sofa, his elbows resting against his knees. His hands were clasped so tightly that his knuckles had gone pale.
Harold sat opposite him.
Ezra remained beside Harold, unusually quiet.
Renee sat near Nelly.
And Nelly…
Nelly stared at the floor.
She looked as though she were trying to find the courage to open a door she had spent years keeping locked.
Grey broke the silence.
"Tell me."
Nelly didn't look up.
"Everything?"
"Everything."
Her fingers tightened together.
"Don't leave anything out."
Nelly swallowed.
"I won't."
She finally lifted her eyes.
"But you need to understand something first."
Harold leaned forward slightly.
"What?"
Nelly looked at each of them.
"What I'm about to tell you isn't something I remember like an ordinary memory."
Grey frowned.
Nelly's voice became quieter.
"When I close my eyes…"
She hesitated.
"I can still feel it."
