522 Loyalty

Angela woke up with a start, her chest rising and falling fast as she took in her surroundings, reminding her that she was back in her bedroom in Mayne and that it was her third night there. It was also three consecutive nights that she'd been having nightmares.

The dreams were all the same: her fighting for her life and then all of a sudden, she had a gun in her hand and was pulling the trigger. Sometimes it would only be one pull, and other times, it would be many. Sometimes, it would be Lauretta she killed or that man who tried to abuse her, and other times, they would be faceless figures getting to her and she would keep on pulling the trigger. She'd only stop until her hands were bloody—even though she wasn't wounded and hadn't touched anyone who was.

It wasn't lost on her that her dreams were symbolic. Weeks after The Manor incident, she still couldn't get rid of the guilt of having blood on her hands.