“An ugly, painful death.”
It saddened him, knowing how her heart, once so open and pure, had been trampled by means of the very people who ought to have covered it. “Okay. Love hurts. I cannot deny that. But what about loneliness?”
“I'm no longer lonely.”
“Liar.”
She stepped away from him. Without a backward look or a wave or anything, she jumped on her bike and rode away.
“Go ahead,” he referred to as after her. “Run away. You can only go so far.”
Cindy knew her mom would be ready for her. She'd probable be sitting at the kitchen table, or in the rocker on the porch, pretending to be occupied via some small task. Maybe knitting; she'd usually loved to knit.
Cindy stopped pedaling. The bike slowed down, rattling and bumping over the uneven road. When she reached the minivan, she dum
