Page 368 of Face Off

“She sees it now,” Briggs says.

“That doesn’t change what happened.”

“No.”

“It doesn’t give me back anything I lost.”

“No.”

I turn toward him. “Then why does it feel like she gave me something?”

“Because understanding the wound doesn’t heal it, but it means you aren’t the only person carrying the truth of how it happened anymore.”

My throat tightens.

Briggs gestures toward the letter. “She finally looked at you.”

I stare at the pages.

At my mother’s name.

At Charm admitting she knew enough to have questioned Lance sooner. At her refusing to hide behind control when privilege protected her too. At the distinction between jealousy and betrayal. At the life she refuses to promise will be easy.

She finally looked at me.

“What did she say about your mom?” Briggs asks carefully.

I press my tongue against the back of my teeth, but the words remain difficult. “That my mother saw everything after she died. That when I find her again, she’ll tell me she was proud.”

Briggs looks away.

His hand drags over his mouth while he stares toward the darkened hallway. “Fuck.”

“I know.”

“You believe her?”

I look down at the blurred spot where my tear struck Charm’s letter.

“I need to.”

Briggs nods. “Then believe her.”

He stands, squeezes the back of my neck, and leaves without asking whether I’m all right.

Neither of us insults the other with that question anymore.

I carry the letter to the kitchen and read it again. The second time, anger sharpens different sentences. The third exposes the fear beneath her honesty. By the fourth, I can hear her voice despite the distance she has protected.

I hear her threatening women who don’t exist.

I hear the self-conscious pause before she admits a large wedding could endanger her.

I hear her laughing over pizza.

I hear the terror inside the final request.

I hope you can wait a little longer.