She slowly returns her eyes to the road. They would be turning onto the highway soon. There were no buildings anymore, just trees, and they rose up on both sides of the road like walls, boxing them in. She flexes her hands in her lap, rage slowly bubbling over.

“The world we live in is shit,” she spits. “Pure shit. And people fucking suck.”

Daniel laughs, but not the kind of laugh that one emits at something funny. It’s bitter, angry, resigned. Sharp. Insincere. A bark of a laugh.

“Daniel, did I do the right thing?” she blurts. Her hands are sweating but they’re cold. “I killed him, and now they don’t have a father anymore. He was a monster, but he was their father. I keep going back and forth in my head about it. Maggie said that their lives were fine.”