Chapter 18 - THE PIECE OF PAPERThree years after the night they fled Chicago, Helen and Sarah stood on the deck overlooking the Pacific.
Sarah was seventeen.
College applications filled her room.
She wanted to study criminal psychology.
Helen held two cups of tea.
“Do you ever think about Richard?” Sarah asked.
Helen looked toward the sunset.
“Sometimes.”
“Are you still afraid?”
Helen smiled.
“No.”
Sarah reached into her cardigan pocket.
She pulled out a small, yellowed piece of paper.
The original warning.
Five words.
Pretend you're sick and leave.
Helen stared at it.
“I kept it because I thought it reminded me of fear.”
Sarah folded it carefully.
“I think it reminds me that we listened.”
Helen laughed softly.
“You're right.”
May you like
They watched the sun sink beneath the horizon.
For once, darkness didn't feel like an enemy.
