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I stumbled on the answer key to a midterm quiz on his desk after school.
I stored to memory the first ten answers and then aced the fifteen-question test the next day.
My mistake was thinking that I’d gotten away with it.
A month later I thought I was home alone. My mom thought I was a straight-A student based on merit.
We were both wrong.
She was in the laundry room when she heard me humble bragging about the test to my best friend at the time.
I failed the class.
I haven’t lied since, until now.
A lie of omission is still a lie.
I walk back into my bedroom and the sight of the man I love fast asleep in my bed.
Today is the day that I put my heart back in his hands.
Pieces are missing.
It’s bruised and battered, but it belongs to him.
***
An hour later, he’s finally awake.
I wish I could say it’s because he sensed when I walked back into the bedroom to check on him, but that’s not what woke him up.
It was the ringing of his phone.
It’s in his hand now, pressed to his ear.
He’s talking to a man named Dylan about Kristin.
I turn to leave the room because this conversation feels private. Gage’s voice is low pitched and his gaze is pinned to the bed.
I walk back into the living room.
I showered and dressed while he was asleep.
I applied my makeup and made a pot of coffee.
The entire time I rehearsed what I need to say to Gage in my head. I ran over the words dozens of times, tweaking them until I finally settled on a mini-speech that I pray I can get through without falling apart.
“Katie.”
I turn at the sound of Gage’s voice. He’s standing behind me, still dressed in only boxer briefs.
“Is everything all right?”
“Better than all right.” He smiles broadly. “Madison put in a call to her attorney. She wants to talk directly to mine ASAP. I think I’m a step closer to seeing my daughter.”
That’s cause for celebration. I have orange juice and a cheap bottle of champagne that Tilly gave me so I could ring in the New Year while I watched the ball drop in Times Square on my television.
I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate then. I’m not now.
