Hailey's pov
The morning air was crisp as I walked along the sidewalk, trying to reclaim a piece of normalcy with a simple coffee run. The bruises on my ribs still ached with every step, a deep soreness that wrapped around my body like a reminder I could not shake.
Roy had insisted on coming, while Ryan had his truck ready, but I needed a moment of my own. So much had happened, my frequent visits with mom, the fact that Brighton is getting away with every wrong thing he had done and how Pedro won't stop sniffing around my life like a predator on it's prey.
Poor Madison, sold as collateral damage.
Every breath pulled slightly, but I refused to slow down. I needed this. Something ordinary. Something that felt like life before everything went wrong.
The café was just ahead, its famil
