Chapter 5

On my first morning in the apartment, I hung the silver hummingbird beside the bedroom window.

The breeze stirred the string, scattering flecks of light across the bare wall.

I still had no bed. My three suitcases sat against the wall, and my back ached from sleeping on the floor. At least no one could walk in uninvited and decide how I should live.

I sat on the floor and opened my laptop.

Brynn's article was still spreading.

More than a dozen one-star reviews had appeared on my studio's page. They came from people who had never worked with me,…