Chapter 9: The Doorway

Erin did not look at Rhett.

She looked at the woman standing a step behind him, in the doorway, in the green dress.

Rhett's arm slid around Dani's shoulders and pulled her in against his side.

"This is Dani," he said to the room. "She works at the garage. She's the one who found Erin, so you can thank her."

He said it with the roses still in one fist.

The picture in the doorway was plain and simple: a man in a leather jacket and a blonde woman at his side, both of them waiting to be forgiven.

I had seen that picture before.

I had seen it ten years from now, under gym lights, with a banner overhead that said CLASS OF.

The monitor over Erin's bed began to beep faster.

Erin's face went slack with shock.

Her eyes were wide and fixed on the two of them, and her hand in mine had gone cold.

"Erin?" Mrs. Hartigan said. "Honey?"

"No," Erin said.

It was barely a sound.

"That's you." She was staring at Rhett. "That's you and her. That's exactly what it looked like."

"Babe, you're confused," Rhett said, in the gentle voice. "You've had a rough night."

"Don't call me that."

"Erin."

"Don't call me that!"

The beeping jumped again.

A nurse in blue scrubs ducked through the door and went straight to the monitor.

"Everyone out except family," she said. "Now."

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