Blythe tapped a skull-bedecked black fingernail against her maroon lips. “The only thing I can think of was that it had to do with her ex-boyfriend, Austin. But she was the one who ended things, not him, and after a while he seemed okay with it, like he had accepted it.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Back up. Vera had a boyfriend?”

“Yeah, they were pretty serious.”

A shock ripped through my heart. My own daughter didn’t tell me she was dating someone. Why would she hide this from me? She didn’t give me the chance to disapprove; we never even had a conversation about it.

“How serious?” I managed to ask, though it hurt to speak.

“I mean, not marriage serious, but in love and stuff.”

I didn’t want to know what exactly in love and stuff meant. Or if Vera had acted on that supposed love. And yet I did want to know. I wanted to know everything, every single heartbreaking and terrifying piece of her life.

“What did you say his name was?” I asked.

“Austin Miller. He’s a grade below Vera. Got held back in fourth grade. Not really a good guy, but not bad either.”

Austin Miller. The name didn’t sound familiar.

“What do you mean, he wasn’t a good guy?”

“Austin…tended to attract trouble. I warned her about him and told her he’d mess up her life. He was pressuring her to have sex, acting like he cared about her feelings then ghosting her when she wouldn’t do whatever he said. I told her the only way out was to break up with him. There’s no fixing someone like him, y’know? But she was devastated. I was pretty worried about her mental state after they split. But eventually she got over him. At least she seemed to.”

Everything made so much more sense now.

“How long were they dating?”

“I forget. Maybe a year or so?”

“A year!” It came out a scream, startling Blythe back a step. “I’m sorry…I just didn’t expect her to keep a boyfriend a secret for that long. When did the breakup happen?”

A furrow creased her forehead. “I think Vera ended it maybe a month or so before she…” She wouldn’t say disappeared. I often found myself unable to speak it too.

Blythe turned her head into the crook of her elbow and coughed. As she covered her mouth with her wrist, I noticed a tattoo. I had seen it recently, but I couldn’t remember where. Rummaging through my memories, it was right there…so close I could see it…

Again my phone buzzed in my pocket. Again I silenced it.

“One sec. I’ll be right back.” As Blythe’s coughing subsided, she left us standing in the entry while she headed into the belly of the house.