Ghost stayed with Lily for three days.
Maya drove back alone. The road stretched out in front of her, empty and quiet. She thought about the way Ghost had looked at his daughter. The way his hands had trembled when she hugged him. The way he'd held on like she was the only thing keeping him tethered to the earth. She thought about the years he'd lost. The years he'd never get back. The years he'd spend trying to make up for it. She thought about the weight he'd carried for fourteen years—the silence, the guilt, the love he'd never been able to express. She thought about the way he'd finally let it go, just a little, just enough to let himself hope. She thought about the way Lily had looked at him, the way she'd said "I know" like she'd been waiting her whole life to say those words. She t
