I shook my head. ‘It was all Lottie.’
Lottie literally puffed out her chest. I would have laughed, or made a sarcastic comment, but I didn’t have the energy. The helplessness of the situation weighed heavy on my lungs.
How were we ever going to escape this cycle?
How could I become an esteemed judge when I spent half of my life trying to fight back my own murderous impulses?
How could I find love – and keep it?
My soul had been carved in two, and my whole life had been torn out from under me.
‘Hafsah,’ I moaned, tears sliding down my cheeks. It felt alien and vulnerable to cry freely in front of other people, but exhaustion had made the tears impossible to suppress. ‘What have we done?’
Lottie tucked the cuffs into her scruffy purple backpack and zipped it shut. ‘Do you guys want to mope around for a bit, or shall we skip straight to the part where I save the day with my unparalleled genius and resourcefulness?’
I lifted my head from the palms of my hands. ‘What?’
She lifted her chin and met my gaze, eyes twinkling with that trademark blend of mischief and triumph.
‘I found T.A. Renner.’