Julia told everyone I overreacted.
Daniel convinced people I was jealous and dramatic.
Most of our friends sided with them because it was easier.
Julia stopped speaking to me two days later.
Now her son was staring at me like I was the last safe place left in the world.
I stepped closer to the bed carefully.
“Ethan… where’s your mom?”
His face crumpled instantly.
“I don’t know.”
Denise quietly explained what little they knew.
Ethan had been in the back seat of a rideshare vehicle struck by a drunk driver. He had no phone, no relatives listed—only a sealed envelope and my contact information inside his backpack.
“Was your mother with you?” I asked gently.
He shook his head.
“She put me in the car.”
“To where?”
