But I keep replaying it.

I saw signs that he was becoming cruel, and I let distance become my answer.”

He looked toward the hallway where Piper was sleeping.

“I wish I’d shown up for her before she needed me that morning.”

I knew guilt could become a way for people to ask the injured person to absolve them.

Gabriel did not ask.

He sat with the discomfort of what he had failed to understand.

“Thank you for telling me,” I said.