Page 5 (1/2)

Chapter One

THE NOTE

There would be no happy ending for us He was too daone this far in the first place Then this never would’ve happened If only I’d been stronger If I only I hadn’t said those words, if only ere different people—not the lost, scared and broken people that erethen ouldn’t be in this wreck

I was okay Just okay Not good, not bad—just okay After what happened to Mom, I answered a lot of questions with that line

“Lorrie, how are you coping?” they would ask

“I’m okay”

Or: “I’m so sorry Lorrie, this shouldn’t have happened to a wos?”

“I’m okay”

Before the trial, during the trial and after the trial, I gave that same answer What the hell did they expect me to say?

Sitting on the edge of a low stone bridge spanning a narrow part of Lake Teewee, I looked out across the dark waters, idly gazing at the old, towering trees along the distant shore as if they so

I dangled h water The bridge spanned over a narrow part of the half-frozen lake that eventually turned into a streah and around the west side of campus Some of the students liked to call the lake “Lake Peepee” I thought it was a stupid name at first but then someone explained that there were frequent ru in the lake Whether it was true or not, the water in the lake was still covered in a disgusting layer of green algae

I had finished unpacking and setting up ht, and decided to take a walk thisto refamiliarize myself with the campus layout It would be nearly a week before classes officially started so there weren’t toothe campus yet which made the place rather quiet

I exhaled deeply and ed in front of me

After taking three see, ready to start the Spring semester in the middle of the coldest winter ever experienced in Studsen, Illinois The crappy weatherof my move from my aunt’s house in Indiana back to Illinois unfortunate, but I didn’t want to delay co back to school

Aunt Caroline had suggested I take another se I wanted I wanted to feel norer, and the depression The therapist had told rief, which was “acceptance”, then I could move on with my life She’d said this last step was the hardest for most people For some it takes months, others years, and the restwell, they never ory I’d fit into; all I kneas being away froave me more time to dwell on the past

A high-pitched squeal to rippable stone on the bridge, Iinto the water I turned toward the noise and caught a gli into the thick brush with ato collect enough food to last the re winter

I wrung et off her lawn “Hey buddy! You almost made me fall into the lake” The cat had al unlucky