The Standing She Did Not Know She Had

That was the thing that closed the door.

Not the betrayal itself, but the glimpse, all at once, of how little had ever been real underneath it.

Chapter 4 — Remember This Moment

I smiled.

It was not happiness and it was not peace.

It was the sound of a door closing quietly somewhere inside me.

“Then remember this moment,” I said.

“Because it’s the last one you’ll ever get from us.” Beau gave a small laugh, almost gentle, the way you laugh at someone you have decided is overtired.