It was a vital practice to ensure you remained yourself when you returned home.
But Maggie didn’t want to remain herself. She wanted to check out from reality completely. To sink into her mind and not come out. To be numb. A hollow shell that felt nothing and stayed far away from the earth-crumbling pain that quaked through the very fiber of her being.
Brick by brick she restored the obliterated pieces of her protective walls and replaced them with impenetrable titanium. Nothing could get through. Nothing could be allowed in.
“Maggie, are you there?” said Bishop.
Maggie couldn’t cope, and it was the only way she knew how to deal with the horrendous news. The same way she did at six when she learned her mom was dead. The same way she did before striking a killing blow. Better to be gone than feel. Better not to feel anything at all.
When she finally opened her eyes again she was numb. Cold, and devoid of emotion.
Maggie held her phone back to her ear and responded to Bishop’s request.
“I’ll be right there.”
The Witness Page 10