My sister smiled just before my little daughter slipped into the hotel pool. When I tried to reach her, my father grabbed my arm and refused to let me go.

to decide the rest of her life.

That night, after Emily fell asleep, Adam and I sat on the porch beneath a sky filled with stars.

“Do you ever miss them?” he asked gently.

I knew who he meant.

I thought about my mother’s perfume, my father’s study, Vanessa’s laugh before it sharpened into something cruel, Mark teaching me to ride a bike before he learned continue reading …