Page 134 of When a Soul Cries
She nodded.
“Got the job at Cash Market. Got the apartment. Found daycare.”
“And tried to keep everything together.”
“Tried?”
Her mouth twisted.
“You saw how that turned out.”
I didn’t smile.
“Tell me.”
Her eyes filled again.
“Rome…”
“Tell me what happened after that eviction notice.”
She looked away.
“I lost the apartment.”
“I figured.”
“No.” Her voice cracked. “I lost *everything*.”
My chest tightened.
“When they locked us out, most of our stuff was still inside. Clothes. Furniture. Halo’s things.” Her face twisted as she tried to keep herself together. “Her little pictures. Stuff from when she was born. Things I can’t replace.”
A tear slid down her cheek.
“My car was already broken down. They towed it from the apartment complex.”
“Fuck.”
“Then I lost my job.”
I sat forward.
“Cash Market?”
She nodded.
“I missed shifts. I didn’t have transportation. I was trying to figure out where me and Halo were gonna sleep. I couldn’t keep calling out, and eventually…”
Her shoulders lifted helplessly.
“They fired me.”
“Where the hell was Zari?”
The question came out harder than I intended.
Sol’s head snapped up.
