She pulled her hands away and shook her head, her mouth pressed into a line. I repeated the question, louder, as I looked at Jess, who slowly placed a hand over her mouth.

Emily’s eyes relaxed into a dull stare. “Her.”

“Who is ‘her’?” My voice was louder now, nearly a shout. “Emily, I said, who is—”

Jess stepped forward and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Amy. Stop.”

Emily took the opportunity to turn and run upstairs. Still crouched down, I looked up at Jess. She struggled to keep her face calm, but I saw the fear simmering under the surface.

“Go check on Melissa,” she said. “I’ll take the kids to my house.”

CHAPTER
14

I hurried down the sidewalk, ignoring the pain in my leg, and turned the corner of Oakton Lane, sweating and out of breath as I approached Melissa’s house. As I got closer, I slowed when I heard soft, warbling music and saw a Ford F-150 with Ohio plates parked out front. Shit. I had forgotten her parents were coming, and it looked like they had already arrived.

I hesitated on the sidewalk, unsure of what to do. Melissa had specifically asked that we not socialize with her parents—for our own sake as well as hers. I knew how uncomfortable the visit would be, and the last thing I wanted to do was force some kind of literal come-to-Jesus moment between her new life and her past.

Your Roomba just tried to attack you, idiot. Go make sure she’s okay.

I slowly made my way up her stamped-concrete front walk, past the black planters filled with geraniums, and lifted my hand to knock. Before my knuckles could make contact, the front door swung open.

Tony stood, smiling, arms outstretched. “Amy! What a wonderful surprise! I told Melissa she should invite some of her friends to meet her parents.”

“Oh—I’m not really . . . how did you know I was here?” I said, crossing my arms over my chest, realizing I was in a white T-shirt from college that read, Gimme Margaritas, Por Favor.

“The Ring, of course. I get an alert any time there’s motion at the front door,” he said with a shake of his head. He stepped aside and motioned for me to come in.

“Oh, no thanks, Tony. I just wanted to tell Melissa something. Can she step outside for a quick moment?” I took a step backward, nearly tripping over a midcentury-modern elevated planter.

“Don’t be silly.” He reached forward and put a hand on my back, guiding me inside. “Everyone is outside in the yard. Come say hi, even if only for a minute.”