My eyes filled.
“You sat beside my bed and checked my breathing too.”
I nodded.
“But you never made me feel like I was the reason you were scared.”
That broke something open inside me.
“You told me I was allowed to be afraid.”
She squeezed my hand.
“And you stayed until I believed I could still have a life.”
I pulled her into my arms.
“You are my life.”
She cried against my shoulder.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then Lily whispered, “Do I have to forgive him?”
I pulled back.
“No.”
She looked surprised.
“You do not owe anyone forgiveness just because you understand why they hurt you.”
“What if I want to talk to him?”
“Then you talk to him.”
“What if I don’t?”
“Then you don’t.”
“What if I talk to him and change my mind?”
“You are allowed to do that too.”
She looked down.
“What if he disappears again?”
That question made something fierce rise inside me.
“Then he answers to me before he ever gets another opportunity to hurt you.”
For the first time that night, Lily almost smiled.
Part 8 — Nobody Gets to Decide for Anyone Else Anymore
Dad was still downstairs when we returned.
