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Back She's Gone Save as PDF
Chapters (95)
  1. Front Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Video #1
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Ten
  16. Eleven
  17. Twelve
  18. Thirteen
  19. Fourteen
  20. Fifteen
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-One
  27. Twenty-Two
  28. Twenty-Three
  29. Twenty-Four
  30. Twenty-Five
  31. Twenty-Six
  32. Video #2
  33. Twenty-Seven
  34. Twenty-Eight
  35. Twenty-Nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-One
  38. Thirty-Two
  39. Thirty-Three
  40. Thirty-Four
  41. Thirty-Five
  42. Thirty-Six
  43. Thirty-Seven
  44. Thirty-Eight
  45. Thirty-Nine
  46. Forty
  47. Forty-One
  48. Forty-Two
  49. Forty-Three
  50. Forty-Four
  51. Forty-Five
  52. Forty-Six
  53. Forty-Seven
  54. Forty-Eight
  55. Forty-Nine
  56. Fifty
  57. Fifty-One
  58. Fifty-Two
  59. Fifty-Three
  60. Fifty-Four
  61. Fifty-Five
  62. Fifty-Six
  63. Fifty-Seven
  64. Fifty-Eight
  65. Fifty-Nine
  66. Sixty
  67. Sixty-One
  68. Sixty-Two
  69. Sixty-Three
  70. Sixty-Four
  71. Sixty-Five
  72. Video #3
  73. Sixty-Six
  74. Sixty-Seven
  75. Sixty-Eight
  76. Sixty-Nine
  77. Seventy
  78. Seventy-One
  79. Seventy-Two
  80. Seventy-Three
  81. Seventy-Four
  82. Seventy-Five
  83. Seventy-Six
  84. Seventy-Seven
  85. Seventy-Eight
  86. Seventy-Nine
  87. Eighty
  88. Eighty-One
  89. Eighty-Two
  90. Eighty-Three
  91. The Final Video
  92. Acknowledgments
  93. About the Author
  95. Back Cover

“From reading Chloe’s journal, I know something was wrong in her life, something she felt she couldn’t tell me. She says she wanted to tell me on the night of homecoming, and maybe she did. I can’t remember. But even if she did tell me, I’m guilty. I’m guilty of not doing enough to get her to tell me what was wrong before that night. Whatever was happening, she didn’t feel right telling me. And that’s a failure on my part. If not being able to hear what she had to say meant causing something awful to happen to her, then I’m guilty of that as well. I should have been there for her, and she should have felt safe telling me.”

I clear my throat.

“If she’d done that, then maybe none of this would have happened.”

I feel like I’m finished and reach to turn off the camera, but then something else occurs to me.

“Tomorrow morning is Daniel’s funeral. I can’t go. The police told me it wouldn’t be right, and my dad agrees. I guess I do, too, even though we were once very good friends. But I think all of you should go, especially if you live in town and especially if you go to Garrett Morgan. Daniel’s mother is a single mom, raising him on her own. She doesn’t have a lot of family here and she needs all the support she can get. So please go. For her. And for Daniel.”

I take a deep breath.

“I guess that’s all. So. Yeah, that’s it for now. Maybe for always.”

I turn off the camera.

I really, really want to share the video. I know all the reasons not to: Dad, the police, the school, the town.

But I want to be heard as well. I want my side of the story to get out.

Everyone else is talking about me, and I want to have my say.

But is it worth it? Does anything I’m doing make a difference? Is any of it getting us any closer to finding Chloe?

Depression lands on my shoulders like a shroud.

My finger hovers above the phone, ready to share. But I can’t summon the energy now.

I drop my hand and leave the video unposted.

Sixty-Six

Dad orders pizza, and the three of us eat our half-pepperoni, half-mushroom mostly in silence.

Olivia does her best to cheer us up. She tells a long story about Gabriela’s cousin’s Halloween costume. Gabriela’s cousin is four years old and obsessed with Frozen, so she wants to dress up like Elsa. Her mother had the kid try on the costume just to see if it fit, but then she refused to take it off. She’s been sleeping in it ever since.