She forced herself to watch the lighthouse as it became a shape instead of blurred lines. The clean white tower, the little house, the slick black rocks below that gave the bay its name. She forced herself to watch.

The water churned beneath the ferry’s engine, a rumble that reverberated in the hollowness of her chest, and she had to stop herself from pressing into her healing wound just to feel the pain. It was a bad habit she was trying to break.

Soon, the town appeared.

Home, it still whispered to her, though the sourness of it lingered in the crevices of her mouth.

There was no Sammy to greet her on the docks this time. She ducked her head low, just in case anyone was watching, and started up a small, hidden path that most people didn’t know about. It stretched all the way out along the cliffs to her destination.

The day was calm, the waves gentle, the sun hot against her cheeks. It had been a while since she’d been allowed free rein outside. So much of the previous weeks had been spent in hospitals or therapy or in bed, resting. There had been an itch building up beneath her skin because of it, and one night she’d scratched so hard she’d left droplets of blood on her shirt.

Mia didn’t think about any of that as she walked. She thought, instead, of the years before that terrible summer, running along this path, barefoot and pink cheeked in the warmer months, careless of the plunge just a few feet off the trail. She thought of Asher’s small hand in hers, both of their palms sweaty, crusted with mud at the fingertips where it was starting to dry. She thought of the way they whispered as they built a fairy house, right up ahead, in that one tree that had a gnarled knot at its base.

She thought of each golden-tinged memory, holding them gently in her hands, caressing them, soaking in their warmth.

And then she let them go.

By the time she got to the lighthouse, her face was wet with tears she hadn’t realized were falling. She swiped at them, an angry jerk, annoyed with herself that she was crying over it.

She hesitated only a heartbeat before pushing the door open and stepping inside. Averting her gaze from where there was still copper on the floor, now fresh instead of from years ago, she headed for the steps.

Mia didn’t stop until she was outside again, leaning against the railing. The same place she’d been when Lacey had sat beside her, taking shots of Eagle Rare.