Arielle
“Ava died.”
Those words kept echoing inside my skull. Memories crashed into me all at once.
I never finished telling you about Ava DeLuca.
She died when she was eight years old. Fifteen years ago. I saw it with my own eyes.
I should have told Emris the truth long ago, but my father made me swear silence. I was terrified back then. Too terrified and little to know what to do.
The day she died, I wished time could rewind, so I’d never met her. I would have stayed with Emris as my only friend.
Because in my mind, Ava died because of me. I brought her into my life. And that guilt followed me ever since. Tears slid down my cheeks before I realized I was crying.
“A–Ari–Arielle,” Emris’s voice cracked through the phone. “Are you there?”
I ended the call.
Then I crumpled t
