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Avoided relatives.
Ignored messages.
When we moved across town after the funeral, I barely told anyone where we were living.
I never posted our address online.
I kept our struggles hidden.
So how could someone know?
Night after night, I found myself standing behind the living room curtains staring into the darkness outside.
Watching.
Waiting.
Convinced someone was out there.
One night around two in the morning, headlights suddenly swept across my bedroom wall.
I sat upright instantly.
My heart hammered.
Outside, an engine idled.
I rushed barefoot to the window and pulled back the curtain just in time to see an old pickup truck disappearing into the darkness.
The next morning, I rushed outside.
No grocery bag.
Instead, there was an envelope.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Three simple sentences written in uneven handwriting.
“Your husband once saved my life.
I couldn’t save his.
So now I’m trying to save yours.”
The room seemed to tilt.
My pulse pounded in my ears.
Behind me, Lily appeared.
“Mom?”
I folded the paper too quickly.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
The lie came out instantly.
Too fast.
Too obvious.
Lily stepped closer.
She had David’s eyes.
Gentle.