The hesitation sends a sharp pulse of unease through my chest.
“…because of Clara.”
My head snaps up.
The numbness disappears instantly.
I sit up straight.
“What?” My voice is sharp now. “Clara?” The name echoes in my head.
My confusion quickly turns into anger. “What do you mean Clara?” I demand. Because now, it feels like another truth is about to break everything all over again. Tears spill down my face before I even realize they’ve started. My hands tremble as I look at Dominic. “What about my sister?” My voice breaks. “Dominic… what about Clara?”
He doesn’t answer. The silence stretches too long. A sudden pain twists through me. “If you’re not going to tell me,” I say, reaching for my phone with shaking hands, “then I need to call her. I need to ask her myself.”
Before I can unlock the screen, Dominic grabs my wrist.
“Sera… you can’t.”
The way he says it makes my stomach drop.
I stare at him.
“What do you mean I can’t?”
His eyes fill with something heavy.
Something final.
“She’s been gone,” he says quietly. The words hit me like a punch to the chest. “For two months now.”
“No.” The word escapes me instantly. “No. No, no, no—”
My breathing breaks apart. The room tilts. A cold wave of panic crashes through my chest. My heart starts racing so fast it feels like it might explode.
“No,” I whisper again, shaking my head violently.
This can’t be real.
My lungs refuse to fill. The air feels too thin. Too small. It feels like I’m dying. My fingers clutch at my chest as memories suddenly begin flooding my mind.
Clara’s voice.
“I miss you. When are you going to visit?”
Mrs. Alden standing outside her house that morning. The look of pity in her eyes. Her words replay suddenly with terrifying clarity.
“People handle these things differently.”
“Everyone has their own way of… coping.”
I thought she was talking about Dominic, about the cheating.
But she wasn’t, she was talking about Clara.
The call with Nadia.
Me saying,I’m here. I’ve got you.Feeling like I’ve said those words before.
