"Who's crying in there?" Joanna Jacobs asked. There were only a few people in the Vaughn house tonight, and the elders were already asleep. 'Who would be crying in the bathroom I share with Sylvia at this hour?'
Joanna was an atheist, so she didn't hesitate to flip on the bathroom light.
"Sylvia?" Joanna stared, stunned, at Sylvia Vaughn crouched on the shower floor.
Sylvia's hair was a mess, her clothes torn and filthy. Blood was still trickling from the corner of her mouth and her nose. She was wearing a pair of denim shorts, and her exposed thighs were shockingly covered in welts of all sizes. She just sat there crouched beneath the showerhead, arms wrapped around her knees, sobbing helplessly.
"Sylvia, what happened to you?" Joanna asked as she stepped into the bathroom.
The sight of Joanna made all the emotions Sylvia had been holding back burst forth. She buried her head in her knees and began to wail. "Joanna... don't come in... I'm filthy..."
