The rain had started sometime after midnight, soft at first, then steady enough to turn the city outside AJ’s apartment into a watercolor of amber streetlights and blurred reflections. She stood barefoot in the kitchen wearing an old university sweatshirt, sleeves pushed to her elbows, a glass of wine warming slowly in her hand. The dishwasher hummed. The clock above the stove glowed 1:17 a.m. And still she couldn’t sleep...