TESSIE'S POVThe days after Jace and Diane left blurred into a gray, suffocating fog. Three days, to be exact. Seventy two hours of silence so thick that it felt like the house itself was holding its breath, waiting for something to break. I barely left my room. The bed still smelled faintly like him from the times we had snuck moments together, his cologne mixed with the laundry detergent Mom-- I mean, Diane, used. I buried my face in the pillow every night, willing myself to feel him there, but it only made the emptiness worse.Dad still tried talking to me multiple times. He would knock softly, like he was approaching a wounded animal, and say things like, "Tessie, honey, you need to eat something" or "This is temporary. You will see it was for the best." It was the same things over and over. I hadn't said a word to him because if I did, the only words that would come out were the ones constantly in my head. I hated him, but I knew if I said that, I couldn't take it back. So, I
Read more