The light in the hotel room was gray and diffuse, filtering through the heavy curtains that blocked out the DC skyline. I woke up slowly, the consciousness returning in layers. First, the sound of the air conditioning humming, a steady white noise that filled the silence. Then, the feeling of the sheets against my skin, crisp and cool, unfamiliar compared to the worn cotton of home. Then, the ache. It started in my shoulders, a deep, dull throb that radiated down my arms and settled in the base of my skull. It was the physical residue of the tension from yesterday. The hearing. The lights. The questions. The weight of the testimony settling into my bones like sediment.
I turned my head. Marcus was asleep beside me. He was on his back, one arm thrown over his eyes to block the light from t
