That night, Ava slept in Teresa’s guest room with Claire beside her on top of the blankets. She woke three times, once whispering that she was sorry, once asking whether Daniel knew where they were, and once reaching behind her head in panic. Claire reassured her each time. When Ava finally fell into a deeper sleep near dawn, Claire lay awake and stared at the ceiling. The house was quiet, but inside her mind, every memory of Daniel was being reexamined under a harsher light.
She remembered how Daniel had slowly taken over small pieces of their life. At first it had felt helpful when he offered to handle Ava’s school pickups on days Claire worked late.
