5. Kayla

Chapter 5

Kayla

One Winter Ago / Age Twenty-Seven

The look on Cheryl’s face tells me everything I wish I wasn’t dying to know.

He’s not here, and he’s not coming.

It was stupid of me to assume he would definitely come home after missing last year. When she opens her arms to hug me, I force a tight smile and will myself not to let her see me shed tears over her son.

“Ryan sends his love,” she whispers, stroking my back for a long time. They’re just words. And they don’t mean shit.