Story Branch
		
																							I
																								looked
																								at
																								the
																								pristine
																								white
																								envelope,
																								the
																								kind
																								used
																								for
																								wedding
																								invitations
																								or
																								bad
																								news.
																								My
																								stomach
																								lurched.
																								It
																								sat
																								alone
																								on
																								the
																								worn
																								wooden
																								table,
																								stark
																								against
																								the
																								chipped
																								paint,
																								a
																								glaring
																								anomaly
																								in
																								my
																								messy
																								apartment.
																								The
																								silence
																								in
																								the
																								room
																								pressed
																								down
																								on
																								me,
																								broken
																								only
																								by
																								the
																								erratic
																								thump
																								of
																								my