No one pretended not to listen.
I took a breath.
“It was raining.”
Elias closed his eyes.
“The song on the radio triggered it,” I continued. “I remembered the road. Your truck. The load moving.”
“I saw it in the mirror,” he whispered.
“I know.”
“The restraint snapped. The first pipe rolled. I braked, but the trailer—”
Miriam took his hand.
I looked toward the pear trees.
“I remember turning away from the car behind me.”
Elias frowned.
“What lane?”
“There was a car close behind. Small red hatchback.”
His face changed.
“I never saw it.”
“I did.”
The memory sharpened without pain.
“I turned toward the rock wall because if the van kept spinning, I thought the pipes would go through them.”
Reid’s hand tightened around mine.
Elias stared.
“You moved toward the embankment deliberately?”
“I think so.”
“The report said your steering input reduced the drop.”
“I wasn’t trying to save myself.”
The truth settled over the table.
“I was trying not to take someone with me.”
Miriam covered her mouth.
Elias looked down.
“I should have been able to stop.”
