"You guys hit a tree," she explained quietly. "The side of the truck slammed against it. It was close, so close and almost hit the driver's side... But it didn't. Both of you are safe now." Nothing was settling in yet. I realized that I suddenly felt numb, like my body had formed an invisible shield against everything. My mind refused to remember now. It was like something had hit pause. "Charity, do you know where my phone is?" "Your dad probably has it." I nodded. "Big goof crashed two of my boyfriend's vehicles. Cameron will never let him drive any of his now. I need to talk to Cameron. He needs to know what happened. He's probably worried now that he hadn't heard from me last night." "Don't worry about that right now. Dylan texted him." He did? Then where is Cameron? "Did he come see me at all?" She shook her head, sympathy in her eyes. "He's at work, right? Dylan said he had to take care of a few things." "Oh, that's right." But still. Something didn't feel right. I felt a little hurt that he wasn't here. Maybe Dylan didn't tell him the full story. Knowing Cameron, he'd be here in a heartbeat if he knew something bad happened to me. "I'm sorry I didn't answer your calls, Kara." I looked up and studied Charity's face. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she seemed to have gained a lot of weight. Her hair had gotten a little longer, but it had lost its bouncy curls and lay limp on her head. I reached for her hand, squeezed it for comfort. "I'm sure you heard about me and Andrew," she said quietly. "I'm sorry. I really am." "I could take everything else, but cheating on me? That's a hard line. You know what's sad? He'd been cheating on me for a long time and I had no idea. I had no idea..." "It's not your fault, Charity," I said. "I know that but it still hurts." "How did you find out?" "The daughter of the woman Andrew was seeing went to see me. Dora. Sweet, chatty, little angel that she is. She and her mom didn't know he's married until a friend she used to work with told her." "I'm so sorry." She nodded dejectedly. "Andrew is in bad shape right now. I know he hates himself. Our kids won't talk to him. He drinks all the time. I know I shouldn't feel anything but anger toward him, but I still care about him." Charity had a soft heart. I couldn't imagine what was so loveable about Andrew. "Did you talk to him yet? I heard that you—" When we heard commotion at the door, Charity and I turned to look. My aunts rushed in the room, their husbands and some of their kids with them, and fussed over me. They brought flowers and fruits with them and I was grateful. When they saw Dylan was still asleep, they quieted down. "Kara?" The stench of alcohol hit me in the face as Andrew stumbled inside the room. He looked tormented, his eyes popping out of his head as he stared at me. "Where's Dylan?" he asked, voice shaking. "Is he okay?" "Andrew," Aunt Elisa said. "For God's sake you smell like a brewery." Andrew stood frozen at the door. "Please tell me Dylan is all right." "He's fine. You could've just called," Aunt Tabby pointed out. "You didn't drive here drunk, did you?" "Charity. Oh God, you're here." Andrew said, collapsing against the wall. "I d-didn't mean any of this to happen. I would never hurt Kara and Dylan." "What are you talking about?" My dad stepped into the room. His face knitted in confusion as he stared at Andrew. "What the hell are you talking about, Andrew?" "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. She told me his truck is parked at your shop. I saw him. I saw him." "I don't understand." There was horror in everyone's faces as we watched Andrew and my dad in silence. "Mike, I...I didn't mean for any of this to happen," he repeated. His hands shook as he pressed his fingers on his closed lids. My dad stepped back. He looked shocked. "You know something about this? You had something to do with this?" "I just messed around a little bit." "Messed around?" "Kara and Dylan weren't supposed to be driving that truck. That fucking kid Cameron was supposed to be in the truck!" I gasped. My heart slammed in my chest as I realized what Andrew was trying to say. Around me I heard my aunts cry of dismay. "I just tweaked the brakes a little bit. That kid Cameron was supposed to be driving it! He owes me. He owes me for the money I lost. For losing Charity. For losing my kids. That fucking asshole. You know I would never hurt Kara and Dylan. You know I—" "You son of a bitch!" My dad moved in a flash, fist connecting with Andrew's nose. Blood gushed out. "How dare you hurt my kids. My children! They're all I have, you motherfucker." His face contorted with fury and pain, my dad grabbed Andrew's neck and chucked him outside the room. "Mike, please, I'm s-sorry!" I covered my mouth with my hands, shocked to see my dad so angry, violence vibrating off him. His arms swung, repeatedly punching Andrew. Everything went to chaos after that. "I would never hurt them, Mike. I swear to God!" Andrew was on the floor, arms protecting his face as my aunts' husbands tried to stop my dad. "Why would you want to harm a good kid like Cameron? That poor kid doesn't have anyone." "I only wanted to scare him! I only cut the brakes a little so they'd leak. I didn't want him to die! Just to scare him. Make him pay for what he did. I didn't know Kara and Dylan were in the truck. I didn't know!" "My kids... Kara. Dylan. How could you hurt my kids? My own brother. My own brother..." Suddenly my dad fell to his knees, clutching his chest. My eyes widened in terror and my mouth opened to scream but nothing came out. "Mike! Mike. No, no, no!" I heard my aunts scream. "Call the doctor! Mike, Mike, wake up!" God couldn't be that cruel to me, could He? Not my dad. Not my dad. Please God.