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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

“Okay, fine. Go back to your new soccer friends. But I’m going to finish that movie.” He points back to the house, which looks dark and small under the stars. “That’s my thing. I haven’t stopped making movies. And I never will. I thought I could interview you, get your side of the story. But if this is the way you want it, fine.”

He turns and storms across the yard, his shoes brushing across the dewy grass.

His name forms on my lips.

But I don’t say it.

He goes into the house and slams the door. There’s nothing left to do but turn around and go home.

Twenty-Three

I can’t sleep.

Again.

The argument with Daniel loops through my mind. Was I right to lose my cool? Should I have said those shitty things?

Three times I reach for my phone and start to text him, apologizing. And every time I don’t. Would he believe me? Do we have any friendship left worth saving?

And do I even owe him an apology? He’s the one shooting a documentary that makes me look guilty. Don’t I have the right to be pissed? It’s my life. And Chloe’s life. Do I need an amateur filmmaker using a bad voice-over and clichéd music to turn everything upside down?

The last time I pick up my phone, just before midnight, it chimes. A text from Daniel. No words, just an embedded video. It’s the movie. It’s the last thing I want to watch. The anger surges all over again, so I ignore the message.

I fall asleep and manage to stay under more deeply than I have in a while. When I come to and look at my phone, it’s 4:17. My eyes are so tired, they burn. The house is quiet. Dad and Olivia sleep without trouble. If Mom were here, would she sit up with me? When I was a kid and got sick, she’d sit by my bedside all night checking my fever and bringing me water or a cold compress for my forehead.

But she’s gone. And I love Dad and Livvy more than anything, and I know they love me, but I also kind of feel like I’m on my own in a way I never have been before.

At some point, I fall back asleep. Deep sleep. No dreams, no surreal or scary images in the night. My body and mind must be so wrung out they can’t summon anything from my subconscious.

Thumps wake me up. And more thumps. Hammering. My head. Is Dad having something fixed? I roll over and gently put the pillow over my head, muffling the sound. What could have broken so early in the morning?

Or is someone throwing eggs at the house?

The thumping continues. And it seems close. So close it feels like it’s in my room.