Lila made you feel like you weren’t enough. Alice makes you feel like you’re exactly right.
“Well, you do now.”
“Yeah. I do.”
Don’t compare them. They’re different people.Ali chose you knowing everything. Lila chose you and then changed her mind.
For the first time since Lila died, I can picture a future that doesn't just involve going through the motions. A future with purpose, with partnership, with someone who chooses to be honest even when it's hard.
Someone who chooses me, knowing everything.
Whatever the exam results bring, I'm already winning.
Chapter 41
Alice
ThetextfromSawyercomes around eight at night while I’m curled up on my couch with a book.
Sawyer: Are you busy? Want to go for a drive?
Me: Always have time for you. Everything okay?
Sawyer: Better than okay. I’ll explain when I see you
Twenty minutes later, I’m sliding into the passenger seat of his patrol car. He’s still in uniform from his shift, but there’s something different about his energy tonight. Lighter.
“Hey,” I say, buckling my seatbelt. “Did you have a good day?”
“The best day I’ve had in years.” He leans over and kisses me softly. “Chief Martinez got official notification from the state police today. The investigation against me is closed. I'm cleared.”
I adjust my glasses. “Sawyer, that’s amazing!”
“And Tracy Campbell was arrested this afternoon on witness tampering charges.”
I stare at him. My hands start shaking.“She was arrested?”
“Jennifer Walsh’s testimony, plus all the evidence Chris compiled, plus two other women coming forward… it was enough. Tracy’s looking at serious prison time.”
I feel tears starting. My throat gets tight. I push my glasses up my nose. “It’s really over?”
“It’s really over, Alicat.”
I can finally breathe.The relief is so overwhelming I start crying for real.
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere private.”
He drives us out past the town limits, beyond even the hill where we had our first real date. The road gets narrower, windier, until he turns onto a dirt path that leads to a secluded clearing surrounded by trees. The stars are incredibly bright out here, away from town lights.
“How did you know about this place?” I ask.
“Patrol routes. Sometimes I come out here when I need to think.” He parks and turns off the engine. “We won’t be disturbed here.”
The silence settles around us, broken only by the sound of wind through the trees. Sawyer turns to face me, and there’s an intensity in his eyes that makes my pulse quicken.
“Alice, we’ve been through hell together these past few months. And now that it’s over, we can finally focus on us.”
