He was trying to remember his face.
Derek had understood that hunger before I did, and he’d used it.
He would never get that chance again.
Now when Ethan asks about his father, I answer.
When I don’t know something, I tell him that too. Sometimes we watch old videos. Sometimes we laugh.
Sometimes neither of us does.
Ryan is still gone.
But his memory no longer belongs to whoever shows up with the best story.
I couldn’t give Ethan his father back. But I could make sure he knew him well enough that nobody could ever use Ryan’s memory against him again.
Enjoyed the read? Here is another story you will love: My sister-in-law had been secretly using my lake house for months, but planning her 40th birthday there without asking was the last straw. I changed the locks before the party. Then I saw something on the security camera that made me realize she’d never been doing this alone.
