“She asked whether I thought she was exaggerating.”
I swallowed.
“What did you tell her?”
“That I believed her.”
Claire looked down.
“She started crying. She kept asking if I was sure.”
I covered my mouth.
“She said she didn’t know where else to go.”
I sat down.
Hard.
Claire had picked Emily up that evening.
Helped arrange a safe place for her to stay.
Then connected her with people who could help her begin again.
Emily had given Claire her wedding ring before leaving town.
“She asked me to keep it until she knew what to do.”
I stared at the basement floor.
“Why didn’t she tell me she was safe?”
“She wasn’t ready.”
“Five years?”
“She was afraid you’d persuade her to go back.”
I wanted to argue.
But I remembered my own words.
You can’t run away every time marriage gets hard.
God.
I had practically told her to stay.
