They were both in the car within seconds, the doors closed and locked. No one could see them. No one could hear them, and maybe that was why his father started to talk. “She took you every summer. You’d stay in the pool until your fingers were shriveled. I had to beg you to get out. And even after you did, you’d cling to her.” He lowered his head, and Raven reached out, touching his father’s arm. “When Evelyn asked me to bring old videos into the office, I’d completely forgotten about that first day at the pool. I got choked up, watching it. Evelyn listened without judgment.” Dr. Holloway shook his head, sliding the key into the ignition. “Then I lost your mom, and Evelyn was the only one who kept calling when the weeks turned into months. She was the only person who’d look at me without tears filling her eyes. I got so sick of everyone’s pity.”

“Me too,” Raven said, subtly reaching for his door’s handle. He just needed to know that he could bolt out of there if necessary. But the door wouldn’t budge, and it took him a second to realize his dad had enabled the childproof locks. He’d done it quietly, without Raven noticing. “I lived in that same place, Dad. We could’ve gotten through it together. But you chose her.”

“I didn’t know who she was! How could I have known that she’d…” Dr. Holloway swallowed audibly, steering the car down the long, twisting driveway. Raven turned around, peering back at the house. No one was watching him from the windows. No one was coming for him. “The week before you came home from boarding school, I couldn’t sleep. You were so thin when you left. Half-starved, like something was eating you from the inside out. You’d looked like… her,” he whispered, “after she was found in the snow. Cold and lifeless, and I didn’t know what you’d be like when you came home. I didn’t know if you’d hate—”

Dr. Holloway broke off, pressing his hand against his mouth. He didn’t cry. He didn’t sob. But his eyes were closed for an instant, and Raven inched his phone out of his pocket, pulling up his latest text. The one asking Jack to come over. He hit the call button just as his father looked up, veering the car toward the front gate. “I was exhausted the day you were scheduled to return. I wanted to get some rest before picking you up at the airport, so I came home in the evening. I found Evelyn in our bedroom getting ready to have dinner with some friends. She left soon after.”