Brandon was guilty of what I had witnessed.

I did not need to make him guilty of things we could not establish.

Lauren recommended that Hazel and I stay somewhere safe while she sought temporary financial arrangements.

I hesitated because leaving felt like surrendering a home in which I had put so much care.

Every window curtain, every nursery shelf, even the pale yellow paint around Hazel’s crib had been my choice.

“Leaving for a night does not surrender property rights,” Lauren told me.