Weep In The Night by Valerie Massey Goree

sheet from inside the door and hesitated.
    But she had to see it one more time. The dog-eared picture of her, Aaron, and Hannah slid into her hand. Her darling little girl. Her wonderful husband. The only photograph she had of them. Against orders, she’d secretly kept it. If Griff or anyone from WITSEC knew, they’d destroy it and reprimand her for her foolishness. But she couldn’t let it go. It was her one link to the past.
    The last time she’d looked at the photo had been about eight months ago. Hannah’s birthday. The same day she’d visited Hillcrest Church for the first time. With hands that trembled, Sadie held the photo to her chest for an agonizing moment. Then she planted a kiss on the picture and returned it to its hiding place. She closed the gray door and scooted the hangers back in place across the rod.
    Sadie backed out of the closet and tromped to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face. But Mrs. Gaffney’s green rollers filled the sink. The sight brought on the giggles, and Sadie collapsed onto the tiled floor.
    When the mix of mirth and grief subsided, she scrambled up and examined her face in the mirror. Good thing she had time to repair the damage. While removing mascara streaks, she analyzed her reaction to seeing the photo again. The old haunting pain hadn’t paralyzed her this time. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, she’d focused on the good times they’d experienced. If levelheaded Aaron could talk to her now, he’d probably advise her to move on. He wouldn’t want her to grieve forever.
    Makeup repaired, curls tamed, she gathered the rollers together and found a plastic bag in the kitchen.
    After Sadie knocked several times, Louise opened the door. “So sorry, dear. I was on the phone with Bonnie. Come in.”
    Sadie held up the bag. “I don’t have time to visit, I have to get to work. But I brought these back.”
    “Oh, my rollers. Thanks, dear.” She took the bag. “I forgot all about them. Pete kept me busy. He asked a lot of questions about you.”
    Although Sadie had already stepped away from the door, she stopped at Louise’s words. “Really? What kind of questions?”
    “Oh, you know, the usual. What sort of neighbor are you? How long have you been here? Stuff like that.”
    Sounded harmless enough, but Sadie’s caution meter kicked into gear. So much for her earlier complacency. She’d have to keep alert around the new neighbors. “See you tomorrow.”
    Sadie collected her lunch sack, jacket, and purse. With keys in hand, she rounded the corner of her apartment unit, but a movement by the maintenance shed caught her eye. Two men conversed in angry tones. One pointed to the other then threw his arms in the air. Meandering between vehicles, Sadie kept her eyes on the men. They looked familiar. Then she recognized the dark suit—Pete Williams. Who was his companion? Near her car, she punched the remote. The beep-beep alerted them, and they both glanced towards her.
    In that instant, she recognized the other man. Kyle Nelson from Hillcrest church.
    They locked gazes across the parking lot for a few seconds before the two men slipped out of sight behind the shed.
     
     
     
     

7
     
    The sight of Kyle arguing with her new neighbor stuck with Sadie all the way to work. Were they friends? Did Kyle invite Pete to Hillcrest? Paranoia had free reign in her mind until she parked in Rhodes’ employee lot. She told herself to get a grip. Two men arguing—but Kyle’s odd behavior the night before and Pete’s questions to Mrs. Gaffney hung in the air.
    April’s knock on Sadie’s window yanked her back to reality, and she climbed out of the car.
    While they entered the store, April regaled Sadie with Victor’s latest request to live together. “But I’m sticking to my principles. I told him if he’s serious, then he better start thinking about our future.”
    Approaching the break room, she drew Sadie aside. “We’re going to the South by Southwest Music