I opened the tin, my heart thumping, pulse tap-tapping in my temples. The cookies had been replaced by packs of batteries, books of matches and appliance warranties. I dug deeper, inhaling sharply when I found a wad of cash, a stack of folded twenties, fifties and hundreds sandwiched inside a brochure and secured with a blue elastic band. At least a couple grand. I lowered myself onto the chair in case my legs gave way, clutching the tin in my hands as I examined it from every angle, taking in the scene of a jolly Santa and his rosy-cheeked elves. I tried hard to justify the discovery. Yes, Jack preferred using cash, but why leave this much lying around, especially with a broken window he hadn’t repaired? Why hadn’t he put it in his bank account? I shuddered. What if he didn’t have one? And, once again, why wouldn’t he have one? I looked more closely at the brochure. It was from a jewelry store, and one of the pages had been dog-eared. Not only that, but an item had been clearly circled three times with red pen. A white-gold and sapphire engagement ring. Sapphire. My birthstone.

With a lump in my throat I shoved the flyers to one side and turned the cookie tin upside down, frowning when I noticed a box the shape and size of a deck of cards among the debris. It was wrapped in shiny red paper with golden swirls, rattled when I shook it, and as I turned it over, I spotted a tiny folded note attached to the top with tape. I took it off, and opened it, recognizing Jack’s neat penmanship.

Dear Lily,

Stay tonight & every night after.

I love you.

Jack x

I tore into the paper and ripped open the box, but instead of the ring in the brochure it was a house key, one I instinctively knew was for his apartment. Jack had planned on asking me to move in, maybe even propose, and I’d have said yes to all of it if he hadn’t disappeared. If I hadn’t found out he was a liar. As the future we’d had together crumbled between my fingers, I pressed the box and brochure to my chest, trying not to scream. Scream for Jack to come home. For him to tell me the truth, and, most of all, for this nightmare to be over.

11

MAYA

I barely slept all night, and early Sunday morning, at what Ash and I had long ago baptized stupid o’clock, meaning the sun had scarcely graced the bottom of the skies, I gave up and got out of bed. Once I’d made sure Ash was in his room, and everything that had happened the night before wasn’t a dream or my overactive imagination, I paced the kitchen for a while before going for a run to clear my mind.