Just one of the questions she’d be asking him when she eventually confronted him, then Wade. Vanessa followed the flattened-down weeds toward the tree, tracing the path that the car had taken. She hesitated, then stopped. Was Billy right? Was she ready for this? To see the actual spot where Wren had drawn his last breath? Could she do this?

Yes.

She started walking again, slower but still inching closer. Soon she was just in front of the tree, standing on broken safety glass, thick and glinting in the morning sun. There were deep gouges in the tree where the car had impacted with the thick trunk. Vanessa reached out a trembling hand and traced the marks with her fingertip.

She swept the glass out of the way with her hand, then sat down with her back against the tree trunk. She pulled out a diary and inhaled deeply. She looked up into the perfect blue sky, and the perfect fluffy clouds drifting on a lazy breeze.

Her life was far from perfect. She now sat in the very place her son died.

Tears welled up in her eyes again, but she did not let them come. Instead, she began to read.

Olivia had wanted to stay a virgin until she was sure that Wren felt for her what she felt for him. She was adamant that she be sure. He never pressured her, like her previous boyfriend, and Vanessa felt a sense of pride, knowing that she raised her boy to be respectful of women despite what he’d grown up with. It was a worry that the violence he’d seen early on in his life would leave a lasting impact on the man he’d become, but it wasn’t the case. Wren was wonderful. As Vanessa read more pages, she became convinced, as did Olivia, that Wren was the one.

She couldn’t understand. If he was the one and they were so in love, why the fuck did she kill herself? She was tempted to skip ahead, but she had promised Ryan. She also promised him that she’d call when she had something to tell him.

The sun hung low in the sky and she had to shade her eyes on the way home. Billy was going to be so mad and not just about her missing dinner. She drove home and saw Billy’s pickup parked out the front and had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

‘A word,’ he said sternly as soon as she walked in the door. He had been waiting to pounce on her.

She followed him down the hallway to their bedroom.