\u201cThey told me you were gone,\u201d I said slowly, the words scraping my throat on the way out. \u201cThey said you never made it out of the house. They said\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting tears.<\/p>\n
The two people who had held me up while everything else fell apart. The ones who arranged the service, who stood beside me at the front of the chapel, who greeted every guest with tears in their eyes and hands folded over their hearts. The ones who told me, over and over, that I had to let her go.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t make sense,\u201d I said, shaking my head. \u201cThey\u2019ve been here every day. They\u2019ve been the ones taking care of me, of everything. They arranged\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe service,\u201d Chloe whispered, her voice suddenly sharp, like broken glass. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t real, Dad. They planned all of it. The fire. The story. Everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey told me you were gone,\u201d I said slowly, the words scraping my throat on the way out. \u201cThey said you never made it out of the house. They said\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting tears.<\/p>\n
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