I glanced at Abbi in the rearview mirror. Her eyes were closed, but I doubted she was sleeping. She never slept when she was upset. She was the perfect combination of Scott’s and Kate’s genes. She had Kate’s slender build, which, coupled with Scott’s angles, gave her an athletic frame even though she hated sports. There was something wholesome and endearing about her despite everything she’d been through.

My head reeled as it replayed scenes from this morning. The knock at the door had surprised me, since we hadn’t been expecting anyone. I had looked out the kitchen window and had called for Scott. I saw two police officers on our front steps. A loud sigh escaped his mouth when he spotted them as he came down the stairs into the foyer. He had been imagining the moment for years, and he couldn’t hide his relief that it was finally over.

“Are you Scott Bennett?” the officer asked.

Scott nodded, too nervous to speak.

“Sir, Kate Bennett has been found alive in Rittsberg, Montana,” his partner announced.

Scott stumbled backward like he was drunk. I guided him onto the bench lining the entryway wall.

“Lean forward and put your head between your knees,” the officer said in the commanding way all service members spoke.

Scott’s color was off. Pasty. Gray. His labored breathing made me nervous. He leaned over and put his head between his legs. I rubbed his back, trying to get his shoulders to relax. It took a few minutes before his breathing slowed, but it finally did.

“Told you it helps,” the officer said, even though Scott hadn’t said anything.

He must have been in lots of these situations before to be so arrogant. Did you have to get specialized training to shatter people’s lives? Even though he was telling us Kate was alive, I felt the shock waves splinter our former existence. We’d forever live in a distinct before-and-after sequence now.

Questions had been chasing each other ever since. I couldn’t turn them off. I rubbed my forehead, tired of the endless loop. I moved my neck from side to side, trying to release the tension that’d been building in my stress spot since this morning.

“How are you feeling?” I whispered to Scott, just in case Abbi really was asleep.

He shrugged.

I flicked my head backward, motioning to Abbi, and mouthed, “What about her?”

He shrugged again.

“Do you want me to turn on music?”

“Sure,” he said. His voice was strained and hoarse, like it got after he’d been up all night or at the end of a baseball game. His color was still off.

I needed my phone to navigate, so I flicked on the radio. All my preprogrammed stations from back home were filled with static. I flipped through until I found something clear. Classic rock music filled the car. He shook his head. Country music was next, and he hated country.

“Sorry,” I said, quickly trying to change it and accidentally turning up the volume instead. Abbi jolted awake.