For Nevermore Season 1

games, and hide-n-seek. Tears streamed down Noella’s cheeks, and she didn’t care.
    “She couldn’t wait to see you,” Josie said. “Jen wanted to see you, too, but they only allow two visitors, so she said next time she’ll come up with Tori. Jen sent some cookies, though.”
    Josie hugged Noella, then handed her a plastic bowl with cookies. Tori had taped a drawing she made of her and Noella together, smiling beneath a rainbow, to the top of the cookie bowl.
    “Thank you!” Noella said.
    “I helped make them!” Tori said, beaming.
    Noella opened the lid, saw oatmeal, chocolate chip, and even snickerdoodles.
    “Oh wow, I’m so gonna pig out today!” she said.
    “So, how’s it going?” Josie asked.
    “OK. I miss you. Both of you. How are Mako and Sam?”
    “Good. Mako said hi. She wants to come up and see you soon, but she’s not sure because of her parents, and all that.”
    “Oh, yeah. They’re probably not even gonna let her talk to me after this!”
    Josie frowned, “I can’t wait until she goes to college and gets away from them. It’ll be so good for her to break free and finally spread her wings.”
    “Speaking of breaking free,” Noella said, “any word from the docs on when I might be getting out?”
    “Not yet, they’re not saying too much.”
    Noella swallowed, trying not to let her disappointment turn her happy tears into sad ones.
    “Don’t worry, honey, you’ll be out soon. Just keep your head up, and do what they say.”
    “Yeah, please get out soon,” Tori said. “I can’t stand my new babysitter!”
    “You have a new babysitter?” Noella asked, surprised, though she supposed she shouldn’t have been. Life went on, whether she was there or not.
    “Yeah, this girl Wendy who lives down the street. She’s only in ninth grade, and she’s soooo stupid.”
    “She have super long brown hair and braces?” Noella asked, vaguely remembering the girl from the bus stop, but not enough to have formed an opinion.
    “Yeah, and let’s just say, I should be babysitting her! So you have to get better soon.”
    Noella laughed. “Okay, I’ll try.”
    Noella turned to Josie, “How are you doing?”
    In all the drama, and Noella’s thinking about herself and being locked up in King’s Point, she hadn’t given much thought to how hard everything had been on her aunt. To find out your boyfriend, a man you were practically married to, was the town’s most notorious serial killer, and that he tried to kill you and your niece, had to be one of those things that was nearly impossible to recover from.
    By all regards, Josie should be in the room next to Noella.
    But Josie was strong. She stepped up when her brother died and took Noella in. And now she’d do what she had to do to move on.
    Josie’s gaze was slightly distant, as if she were going down the same broken roads of memory as Noella.
    “I’ll be okay. You just worry about you. I’ll get by. I picked up some extra shifts at work, and I have some money saved.”
    That last sentence made no sense to Noella. She knew for a fact that money had been super tight, but she didn’t ask. Something in Josie’s eyes told her not to, especially in front of Tori.
    Okay, that’s weird.
    “I’ll be home soon,” Noella said. “And we’ll get through this together.”
    They hugged again.
    Visiting hour raced by, mostly filled with small talk that made Noella feel human again, but left her feeling lonelier than ever once Josie and Tori left.
    As much as she hated Aurora Falls and its petty people, and never felt as if she truly belonged, there was nowhere she would rather be right now.
    To go home, where she belonged.

    * * * *

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

    Tori adjusted her dress and stole another glance in the gorgeous beveled mirror in the bathroom, liking the way the red dress looked on her. It was cute but grown-up.
    She left the bathroom and walked down the long white sterile hallway until she reached the elevator. Tori passed a few people, but they all seemed too pre-occupied with the day’s business or one another to notice her.
    She reached the end of the hall with the two large double elevator doors. She pressed the UP arrow button and waited for what seemed an eternity.
    The elevator arrived and the doors opened with a ding. It was empty, like it usually was.
    She got on, then pressed the UP button.
    The elevator began its long trek to the penthouse suite as orchestral music played over speakers. It sounded like Wagner,