Rachel stepped out of the room and left the door half open.

The silence in the room was heavy and absolute.

There was no sister tapping her phone in the corner and complaining about her schedule.

There was no father crossing his arms and talking about his investment strategy.

I picked up the deck of cards and ran my thumb over the frayed edges.

Nine weeks later, we sat in a long wooden pew in the county family court.

The courtroom smelled like industrial floor wax and damp wool winter coats.