I crawled to the empty urn, pain forgotten, my world reduced to ashes.
"Hannah, be strong."
"Hannah, Mom loves you."
"Hannah, life's short—find happiness."
Mom's words haunted me, warm and tempting, pulling me toward the thought of joining her.
Derek's cold voice snapped me back. "Know you're wrong yet?"
I didn't want to hear him, didn't want to answer, didn't care what new torment he'd cooked up. He'd already destroyed my everything. Nothing else mattered.
My silence pissed him off. Brittany fanned the flames. "Derek, looks like Hannah's not backing down. Challenging you now?"
Bang—Derek kicked Mom's headstone, grinding her photo into the dirt. "Hannah, if you won't take the olive branch, then…"
"Then what?" I cut in, my voice dead, a bitter smile twisting my lips. "I've admitted
