Chapter 5 - THE BRACELET
Ava did not come downstairs for dinner.
I left food outside her room.
She did not touch it.
At 11:20 p.m., my phone buzzed.
A text from her.
Where is my bracelet?
I stared.
The gold one.
I left it at Grandma’s.
Three dots.
Then:
Why?
I typed.
Because I was hurt.
Deleted.
Because it felt wrong to wear it after today.
Deleted.
Finally:
I took it off when Dad told me to leave. I left it beside the lemonade.
A minute.
Then:
I didn’t tell him to make you leave.
I sat on the edge of our bed.
I know.
Another pause.
I didn’t lie.
That mattered.
I answered carefully.
About me bumping you?
Yes.
I believe you felt upset.
She replied:
That’s not what I said.
True.
She had said:
Don’t ever touch me again.
Not:
She shoved me.
Not yet.
I wrote:
Okay. Tell me what you mean.
Nothing.
Then:
Dad said you keep grabbing me when I try to walk away.
My chest tightened.
There had been two incidents.
Once at the mall, I caught her elbow before she stepped into traffic while looking at her phone.
Once during an argument, I touched her forearm as she walked away.
She jerked free.
I apologized immediately.
Had Daniel been collecting those?
I typed:
Do you feel unsafe with me?
The typing indicator appeared.
Stopped.
Appeared.
Then:
I don’t know.
That hurt.
But it was information.
I wrote:
Thank you for telling me.
No answer.
The next morning the bracelet appeared on the kitchen counter.
Daniel had gone to Cynthia’s house before work and retrieved it.
May you like
No note.
I did not put it back on.
