Chapter 31: After AgainTrauma would be the word to describe the moments following the event in the fields.
Antonia stared with wide, unblinking eyes as I tried comforting her. One of her hands was clutched to her chest, her fingers curled tight, as though guarding something precious. After much patient coaxing, I opened her hand and found Chester’s ring. She’d been holding it so tightly that it was stuck to her palm and made an indentation in the tender skin below her thumb. The chain it’d been hanging from was still around her neck. I tried taking the ring, but she shrieked and clasped her fingers shut.
I’d failed to protect her. My arms had failed to shield the person I loved more than any other.
Laying her on her bed, I silently begged her to close her eyes, unable to bear her starin
