Once Noelle picks her jaw off the floor, she lets out a hoarse whisper.
NoelleI think I need to go up to my room.
She keeps her steps measured as she moves toward the staircase, but when she reaches it…
She starts sprinting.
Managing to keep her cool for just a moment, she shuts her bedroom door quietly.
But then she throws herself down on her canopy bed from childhood.
She covers her head with a pillow, blood pounding in her ears.
About a half hour later, she hears her bedroom door creak open.