Chapter 2

For four months after the accident, Maren helped me learn to walk again.

When nightmares woke me in the middle of the night, she sat beside the bed, held my hand, and told me over and over that I was safe.

After I left the hospital, she was the one who helped me find Audra and Micah.

The first time we met, three year old Micah pointed at my injured leg and asked if his father had pulled me out of the car.

I told him yes.

Then he asked why I had come home and his father had not.

I could not speak on the drive back.

Maren took my hand and said that if the guilt would not leave, we could turn it into something useful for them.

She mailed the first check herself.

Later, we created an education fund for Micah and invited Audra and him to our home for Thanksgiving. At first, I visited them only once a month.

Then the furnace broke. The roof leaked. Audra's car stalled. Micah's school needed an emergency contact.

Every time, Audra called me.

And I never said no.

A week after Family Day, I finished a meeting early and came home.

The study door was not fully closed.

Maren was inside on the phone.

"How long does a contested divorce usually take if only one spouse files?"

I stopped outside the door.

"We bought the house after we married. How would the joint account and our separate premarital assets be divided?"

I pushed the door open.

Maren spun around and ended the call.

"Who were you talking to?"

"An attorney."

The answer came too quickly.

My stomach dropped.

"Why are you asking about divorce?"

Maren froze for two seconds, then laughed.

"You do not think I am the one getting divorced, do you?"

"Who else would I think?"

"Talia from work. Her husband has been hiding debt from her. She was afraid to call from the office, so I offered to ask for her."

She set her phone on the desk, her voice as casual as if none of it had anything to do with us.

"We have been married for seven years. Give me a little credit."

I felt ashamed for suspecting her.

Maren had never truly left me before.

We had fought plenty of times, but no matter how late I came home, she always left a light on in the entryway.

I told myself I was imagining things.

Then Audra called.

Water roared in the background.

A pipe had burst in her basement, and the boxes Wesley left behind were stacked on the lowest shelf.

"Where is your brother?" I asked.

"On his way."

Audra hesitated.

"The repair company said it will be two hours. Micah is sitting at the top of the stairs, crying."

In the background, Micah called my name.

Audra lowered her voice.

"The bottom box has the letters Wesley wrote to him. I cannot lift it alone."

I reached for my keys.

Maren stood in the study doorway.

"The repair crew is already coming."

"Some things cannot be saved once they are soaked."

"So you are leaving right now?"

"I will be back soon."

Maren glanced at the keys in my hand.

"That is what you said last time."

I thought she was sulking.

As I passed the desk, I noticed a family law firm's website open on her laptop.

Maren walked over and closed it.

"Go," she said.

By the time I reached Audra's house, the repair crew was already pumping out the water.

Her brother had arrived too and was carrying boxes into the garage.

They did not actually need me anymore.

But the moment Micah saw me, he ran over and wrapped both arms around my waist.

The water was under control before eleven.

Audra opened a box of old photographs and told me story after story about Wesley when he was young. I sat on the cold, damp basement steps and listened while my phone vibrated twice in my pocket.

I did not take it out.

It was 1:07 a.m. when I finally got home.

The entryway light was still on.

That made me even more certain Maren would never leave.