I don’t remember the drive.
I don’t remember locking the door.
I only remember arriving.
The school felt wrong without her. Too quiet. Too still. Her teacher and the counselor were waiting by the lockers, both of them looking like they had already cried.
Ms. Holloway handed me an envelope.
Two words were written across it in Lily’s handwriting.
For Mommy.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Inside was a short note.
“I kept one promise a secret from you… but I did it because I love you.”
Beneath it—an address. And a key.
I didn’t understand anything yet.
