I needed to make someone pay for ruining our lives.
It wasn’t long before I found a way to get my revenge.
“Visiting hours ended thirty minutes ago, Hannah,” Cory, the night nurse on duty, said, appearing in the doorway. Her round frame filled the space, blocking the light from the hallway.
I glanced at my watch and startled when I saw the time. It was later than I had thought it was. I had to get home.
My sister had fallen asleep at some point, her mouth open slightly. I had been so lost in my memories that I hadn’t noticed. I leaned down and kissed her softly on the cheek before gathering my purse and following Cory out into the reception area.
“Sorry. I lost track of the time,” I said. Cory patted my arm, her hand heavy on my skin.
“It’s all right. It means a lot to Charlotte that you’re here. We can bend the rules once in a while.” The nurse gave me a wide, toothy smile, her bright red lipstick staining her front teeth.
“Thanks” was all I could say. I hurried out of the building, trying to outrun the memories that I wished I could leave behind with my sister. But every time I saw her, it all came rushing back as if it were yesterday.
Those months after the accident had been the most horrible of my life.
—
I couldn’t get out of bed. I barely ate. I never went to class. When I was called into my adviser’s office, I knew it was bad.
Worse than bad.
I was dangerously close to flunking out, and unless I busted my ass I wouldn’t be coming back to school next semester.
I came back to my dorm roomdespondentbut unable to think of any possible way to dig myself out of the mess I was in. And I wasn’t entirely sure I cared enough to try.
I collapsed on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I was depressed. But also angry. Because nothing was right. Or fair.
Because the contractor the city had used to lay its roads had decided to use a low-grade product that should never have been allowed to be used. There were so many people at fault. The contractor. The city officials who saw only a cheap job to trim their budget.
My mother, who refused to demand answers.
I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes until they ached. I hated feeling so out of control.
So powerless.
Because that’s what I was.
I was one person. What could I possibly do to make things right for Charlotte? For my family? For all the other people affected?
“How was your meeting?”
I dropped my hands, surprised to hear my roommate’s voice. Rose Norris spent most of her time in the dark corner of our tiny dorm room, clicking away ather computer. Like me, she was an information technology major, though we didn’t share many classes.
On paper we should have gotten along really well. But Rosewas an odd duck. Completely antisocial. And she sort of freaked me out.
I wasn’t sure we had shared more than a few dozen words since we had moved in at the beginning of the school year, so hearing her voice now startled me enough to bring me out of my malaise.
I had to admit it was a nice voice. Husky and strangely soothing.
“Excuse me?” I asked, sitting up, squinting in the dim lighting. I sometimes wondered whether Rosewas a vampire. She seemed to have an aversion to natural light.
“Your meeting with your adviser. How did it go?”
I frowned. “How did you know—? Forget it. Never mind. It was fine,” I muttered, letting out a sigh.
“Really? You’re flunking out of school. I don’t think it wasfine.”
