“Jesus.” I remembered those meals. Mark had told me people from the restaurant or old friends had dropped them off. They were always delicious. Obviously, they’d been handcrafted just for me.
Linda continued. “My husband, Bowen’s dad, still to this day has coffee with your father every Sunday morning. They’ve formed quite the friendship. One struggling dad to another. And then there’s me. I’ve been retired for a while, but the minute I heard you were starting PT, I got on the phone and secured a volunteer spot. I wasn’t lying when I told you how much I loved seeing you thrive. Any day I got to spend time with you was the best day of my week.”
I hung my head, confusion still thick inside it. “Why?” I croaked. “Why not just tell me?”
She rose to her full height and released my hands. “I could answer that for you. I could tell you all about my incredible daughter. Not daughter-in-law. Just daughter. How she was so filled with pain. Scared of absolutely everything and everybody. I could tell you how utterly heartbreaking it was to watch such a beautiful, vibrant young woman wither away right in front of our eyes. But there are not enough words in the English language to fully convey that kind of despair. You’re going to have to see all of that for yourself.”
“How?” I pleaded, finally looking up at her. “I don’t even know how to distinguish between what’s real and what isn’t anymore.”
“There are police reports from when you were missing. Medical records. Therapists. Rehabilitation centers. Documentation exists. You just have to look for it. The only way for you to truly understand why we did the things we did is you have to get to know Sally first.”
I sucked in a deep breath and stared up at her. She was right. I couldn’t trust anyone, but if what they said was true, then there would be proof out there. Proof that might actually allow me to put the puzzle pieces together to form a full picture.
Rising to my feet, I nodded. “Yeah. I can do that.”
“Good.” She smiled, and just as I’d feared, it was all Bowen.
My chest got tight as another flash from the past echoed in my head. His labored breaths and shaking hands that night in his truck after I’d gone to be with Katherine at the hospital. The way he’d clung to me, terrified beyond all reason.
“I thought I lost you,” he confessed.
“You’re not going to lose me. I swear,” I replied.
“I did though,” he said.
He’d lied to me. Manipulated me. Made me a fool. And I hated him for it mainly because I loved him so damn much that all I wanted was to go back to his place, curl into his arms, and let him take it all away.
I couldn’t have that. This wasn’t something that could be brushed under the rug. I owed it to myself to discover the truth. To figure out where I’d been and how I’d gotten there.
I was mad, hurt, confused, and shattered. But unlike Bowen, I would keep my promises.
“Will you…tell him I’m okay?” I asked Linda.
She slanted her head. “Are you?”
“No. But I’m not Sally. He doesn’t need to worry about me.”
“Of course, dear,” she whispered. “I’ll let him know.”
With that, I turned on a toe and left.
Numb, I drove back to my office. Bowen was gone, and the door was locked, which meant Aaron or Mark had been there and used their key. My purse was on the desk. My phone too. Bowen must have brought it from his house. I grabbed them both. It wasn’t even noon yet, but it had by far been the longest day of my entire life—at least that I could remember.
Now, I was faced with the overwhelming task of trying to piece together all the days I couldn’t.
Remi
My dad sighed. “Remi, sweetheart, what do you want me to say?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Anything except…” In an exaggerated, deep voice, I mocked, “‘We did what we had to do.’ That doesn’t tell me anything. Except maybe that you knew it was wrong from the start.”
“Oh, I knew it was wrong. I just didn’t care. And if you’d been there, you wouldn’t have cared, either. I’m your father and I did what was best for you. I take full responsibility for that. Now, I didn’t like it. None of us did. But the moral high ground was the least of my worries when it came to getting my baby girl back.”
I rolled my eyes, regretting even answering the phone.
Of all the things I’d learned in life, avoiding lying, cheating boys was quite honestly the skill I’d expected to use least in life. However, as the sun set on what felt like the worst day ever, it had proven to be a useful skill.
