"What did you tell them?" Rowan asked.
Mia's gaze slid to Chloe, just for a second. "I—I lied at first,because I was so scared. But they knew about Leah's blood on my dress, so I told them how we went back out and took some photos on the bluff around midnight. Me, you, and Leah. After everyone else was asleep. How Leah had that nosebleed, that's how the blood got on my dress."
For the briefest moment, Chloe went still, as if the memory had caught her off guard. Then she nodded, her voice quiet. "Yeah, the midnight shoot thing."
Mia didn't look at me. "I told them that after we were done, we went back inside. That we went straight to our sleeping bags, like before 1 a.m. All three of us, together."
Chloe scrunched up her face. "I didn't want to say anything because I thought it would get you into trouble. But Mia's right, nothing happened. We came back in and went to sleep. That's the truth."
I let out the breath I'd been holding as relief flooded through me. Their stories matched. That was good. That had to be good.
Rowan offered a sympathetic smile. "You girls have been through something terrible. It makes sense that you'd want to protect yourselves. The important thing is that you support each other."
Even though Mia had lied at first, so had Chloe. They’d feared getting into trouble, but they were telling the truth now.
My hands curled into fists in my lap. My throat tightened. "As long as you tell the truth."
I said it more sharply than I'd meant to. Mia flinched. “We are."
"Are you sleeping okay? I keep having these nightmares." Chloe twisted a strand of hair around her finger. "Like, I'll wake up, and I'm on the bluff, and someone is falling, and I can't help them. I keep trying, and I keep hearing her scream as she falls. Dr. Monroe says it's my brain trying to process the trauma. That even though I was asleep when it happened, part of me knows something terrible occurred."
I felt a pang of sympathy. Chloe looked so young, so lost. Just a kid trying to make sense of something incomprehensible.
"Yeah," Mia said quietly. "I'm not sleeping much, either."
"It's so awful, isn't it? Not being able to turn your brainoff."
Mia looked at the floor. "I just want this to be over."
Chloe stepped closer, reaching out to touch Mia's arm. "Me, too. But we'll get through it. Together."
Mia nodded.
My heart ached. I wanted to reach for her, pull her close, promise her it would be okay. But I couldn't, not with Rowan and Chloe watching. It would embarrass her too much.
Chloe shifted her weight, glancing toward the stairs. "Can I use your bathroom real quick? I've been holding it since we left our house."
"Sure,” I said. “You remember where it is. Upstairs, first door on the left."
"Thanks." She moved past us toward the stairs. Apollo trotted curiously after her.
Rowan cleared her throat. "We should let you rest, Mia. Dahlia, I'll email you the mock-up I drafted for the memorial program, if you could look it over for editing errors. If you and Mia could go through your photos of Leah and send them to me, Chloe's going to make a slideshow."
I stood, too. "Of course."
"It would be lovely to have candid shots. The girls at the beach, at birthdays. Leah deserves to be remembered the way she was. So vibrant and sweet."
Mia nodded. "I can do that."
A moment later, Chloe reappeared at the top of the stairs, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she descended.
"We were just discussing the slideshow," Rowan said.
Chloe said, "I can come back later this week. To help you pick out the best pictures."
Rowan placed her hand between Chloe's shoulder blades and steered her daughter toward the front door. "We'll figure out a time, but only if you're up for it, Mia."
"Sure," Mia said. "Yeah, I'd like that."
