vial.

The vial in her palm glitters like a gem when the light hits it. Beautiful. One drop and he's gone forever, never to hurt her again, his words cutting deep into her heart. One step and she's at his door, at his unsuspecting side. One moment and revenge is in her grasp. Revenge for her baby girl.

Footsteps, soft and padding down the hallway, coming closer. Her fingers close tight over her secret.

"Mommy?" The little boy looks up at her, his big gray eyes filled with tears. "Mommy, I falled over the kitty." He holds up his pudgy hand, marked by a tiny red scratch.

She bends down and gives him the kiss he wants to make it better.

"Why you in front of Uncle Eddie's door, Mommy?"

"Nothing, love," she says, dropping the vial into her pocket and picking him up. "Nothing."

Worthless, the voice in her head tells her, worthless and cowardly just like he always said. Good for nothing, beggar girl, seductress, liar... he was right about you. Right about Leah. You're no better than him - about to be a murderer.

"No," she says, the word leaving her lips without her meaning them to. As they pass the window, she reaches into her pocket and tosses the vial into the night.

"Why?" says the gray-eyed child. "Why no?"

"Because we're going to prove him wrong."There is a determination in her voice she didn't know she possessed.

"We is!" says the boy. "We is a win, Mommy!"