“She lied to me,” I said for the tenth time.
“Oh, honey…” Mrs. Kline sat beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. The smell of lilac was stronger there, suffocating. “You’re in shock. Anyone would be.”
“It wasn’t just little things. It was… everything. My parents, our family—”
Mrs. Kline sighed softly. “Sometimes people think they’re protecting you. But it doesn’t make it right.”
“She lied to me.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “I don’t even know who she was anymore.”
“If you want, you can stay here tonight,” Mrs. Kline said, like she’d been waiting for that.
“Okay.”
“And about the house…” she added carefully, “if you really decide to sell, I could… try to buy it. I don’t have much, but I’d take care of it.”
I didn’t even think. “You can have it. I don’t care about the money. I just want to leave.”
Her lips curved slightly, but she turned away too quickly for me to read it.
“You can stay here tonight.”
***
Later that night, I couldn’t sleep. I lay there staring at the ceiling, replaying everything over and over.
“That’s not just a coincidence,” I whispered into the dark.
I sat up slowly. My eyes drifted to the chair where the dress was hanging. Something about it felt wrong now.
“That’s not just a coincidence.”
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