---- words, not ours." They left happily. Thad no choice but to take out a loan from the loan sharks, but my grandfather died in the end, anyway. He didn't get treated in time. When I was done with the funeral, it was time to pay up. I called Lawrence and asked for a loan, but he sneered and hung up. These memories suffocated me, and goosebumps appeared on the arm Lawrence was holding. It didn't feel like a hand was holding my arm. No, it was more like a serpent coiling its slimy body around me. I could feel my heart freezing up. My head started to spin. Nausea caught up to me, and I wanted to hurl. I swung Lawrence's hand off and bent over, my hand clutching the front seat. Theld my neck with my gloved hand and started to retch, but nothing came out. Of course. I barely had anything to eat the last few days. ---- Even so, Lawrence covered his nose with a tissue and looked at me with disgust. "Yvonne!" he warned. lignored him and kept on retching until I shook off that urge to vomit. Lawrence's veins were starting to throb. I knew that look. He was on the edge of exploding. I did not try to play dumb like I used to. He would not tolerate that kind of behavior from me. My body was weakened, and I was wobbling. I kept my head down, and my hand was still holding the front seat, though it was shaking.