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
“I know.” He stands with his hands in his pockets. For a moment, I think the awkwardness will descend over us. But when Dad speaks, his voice is clear and determined, and I imagine this is what he’s like in class when he really gets going on some subject he feels passionately about. “When your mom was sick, we just kept going to all these different doctors. You probably remember some of it. And every time we went, I thought one of them was going to tell us something we hadn’t heard before. I thought one of them was going to give us some piece of good news that was going to make her better. After a long time of only hearing bad news, I dreaded each trip. I just didn’t want to hear any more bad news from people who were supposed to be helping us.”
“But you kept going. Mom fought until the end.”
“She did. She wanted to. She wanted to be here for you and Livvy. She really did.” Because she wanted to try as hard as she could. Because I loved her. And I wanted her to stay with us as well.” He looks at the floor and scuffs his foot over some minuscule piece of dust. “I guess we keep on going when we love somebody. As long as there’s a chance…”
He starts back down the hall and says over his shoulder, “Just tell the truth, Hunter. And I’ll be right there with you. And show them the video. You never know…”
Forty-Two
Dad offers Detective Haley something to drink when he comes in, and Haley declines.
He’s wearing dark pants and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. No jacket or tie this time. There’s some redness in the whites of his eyes, but his jaw is set firm like he means business. He holds a manila folder—the kind of thing people carry around in offices on old TV shows.
He speaks to Dad. “You understand Hunter can have his lawyer present. Those rights I read him the last time still apply.”
“Our lawyer let me know she’s in court,” Dad says. “If I don’t like your line of questioning, I’ll stop it.”
Haley lets out a sigh. “That’s your right as well.”
“I know.”
The bickering and arguing tires me out. “Just ask your questions,” I say. “And when you’re done, I have something I want to show you.”
“You do?” Haley asks.
“Yes.”
Suddenly Haley looks curious, and his posture becomes straighter. “Okay, then. First things first. We’ve already discussed the fact that you and Chloe were sexually intimate.”
My face burns. Dad is right there, and without even meaning to, my eyes cut to him. His face shows nothing, but he nods at me, indicating that I should answer the question.
“Once.”
“One time about a month before the homecoming dance.”