Page 260 of Only Be Mine

That was all I could manage.

She was there.

My sister beside her, gripping her hand so tightly her knuckles were white.

They both looked like they hadn’t slept in days.

When they saw my eyes fully open, they broke.

My mother pressed her hand over her mouth and cried openly, the kind of cry that comes when something almost irreversible has been reversed at the last possible second.

“Oh, baby,” she whispered. “Oh, thank God.”

I tried to speak.

Nothing came out but air.

My sister leaned closer. “Don’t,” she said softly. “You don’t have to talk.”

The television mounted in the corner of the room was on, but muted. Closed captions scrolled across the bottom.

I followed their gaze to it.

Trevor’s face filled the screen. He wasn't smiling, not his usual polished self. It was a mugshot, and next to it…

John.

A college photo.

He was younger, laughing.

Alive.

The caption read:

LOCAL ATTORNEY CHARGED WITH MURDER, KIDNAPPING, ATTEMPTED HOMICIDE

My stomach lurched.

I didn’t realize I’d made a sound until my mother squeezed my hand.

“It’s everywhere,” she said, tears still running freely. “The crash. The chase. Everything.”

A reporter’s mouth moved silently on the screen.

Footage cut to Trevor’s mangled car.

To flashing lights.

To Trevor in handcuffs.

Blood streaked down his temple.

Even restrained, he looked furious.

My sister grabbed the remote and turned it off.

Silence filled the room.