Nothing came out.
Claire continued.
“Ryan wasn’t just controlling. He threatened her when she talked about leaving. He kept her away from friends.”
I looked at the ring.
The little blue stone.
I remembered how proudly Emily had shown it to me after the wedding.
“She called you?” I asked.
Claire nodded.
“One afternoon, after she’d tried calling you.”
I remembered that afternoon.
Emily had been crying.
She’d asked whether she could stay with us for a few nights.
Just a few nights.
I remembered how quietly she’d asked.
“Archie, please. I don’t want to go home tonight.”
I’d told her she needed to talk things through with Ryan.
Then I’d reminded her that I was at work.
She’d apologized.
That was the part I remembered now.
My little sister had apologized for asking me for somewhere safe to sleep.
“She called you afterward?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
Claire wiped her cheek.
