Chapters (95)
- Front Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Video #1
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Video #2
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Video #3
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- The Final Video
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Cover
“Thank you. Thank you all.” Scott’s voice is low. He clears his throat and steps closer to the microphone. “Thank you for all of your support. On behalf of Laura and me, we just want to thank you for the kind words and the support and the prayers. We just want to say that…well, we know Chloe’s out there. And we want her to know we love her…and we miss her so, so very…”
His voice cracks, and his chin quivers. He scrunches his eyes shut, and Laura reaches out and rubs his back.
Sniffles fill the air around me. Olivia. Gabriela. Hector. Everyone. Even Cameron looks serious, which he almost never does. Chad has his head down, staring at his feet.
My eyes fill with tears, and I lower my head as Gabriela reaches over and squeezes my arm.
I want to thank her, but if I open my mouth, I might vomit. And it’s not just the remnants of the concussion. It’s everything. All of it. So I close my eyes and just stand still.
Scott’s voice comes back over the speakers. “That’s all we’re going to say right now. It’s tough to talk, so we won’t say much. But we appreciate everything. We do. Laura wanted you all to know that…”
And a few people do applaud, a scattering. And someone shouts, “We love you, Scott and Laura.”
And someone else shouts, “We love you, Chloe.”
And I whisper the words to myself so no one hears: “I love you, Chloe.”
The only thing left to do is light the candles, but Scott speaks again. And what he says makes me open my eyes and look up.
“Hold on just one minute,” he says. “Laura does want to say something. I thought she was too…but, well…if that’s, if you’re sure…okay. Honey?”
Seventeen
Laura moves toward the microphone, but with every step, she steals a look over at Scott, who is nodding, encouraging her to keep going. She wears a Garrett Morgan High sweatshirt that looks kind of tight. It must be one of Chloe’s. She also has a yellow ribbon pinned on her chest. She looks ten years older, and Scott steps forward and takes her hand as she reaches the microphone.
She looks out over the crowd, which has again fallen into a hushed silence. Then Laura just stands there, her lips pressed into a tight line. A few people applaud. And someone shouts encouragement, telling her to take her time and speak her truth.