Ace
“It disappeared.”
The words hang there.
Tessa goes still beside me.
Then I see it.
The shift.
She’s not listening to him anymore.
She’s digging.
Inside her own head.
“Tessa,” I say quietly.
Her eyes snap to mine.
Focused.
Sharp.
“Tell me what you remember.”
Because this?
This isn’t with him anymore.
It’s with her.
“I remember the crash,”she says slowly.
“I remember the impact. The glass. Cathy is screaming.”
Her breathing tightens.
“I remember her grabbing my hand.”
I watch her fingers curl slightly.
“She told me not to say anything.”
“About what?” I ask.
“I thought she meant the accident,” she says. “I thought she didn’t want to get in trouble…because her mother was already angry with her for drinking.”
Then she freezes.
“Oh my God.”
“What?” I push.
“She wasn’t talking about the accident,” she says.
Everything locks in.
