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It had been 297 days since David died

294 days since Samantha left

293 days since he locked himself in the house that had been his and then theirs and was now his again

And he had finally made a decision

He wasn’t quite sure when hein, perhaps, or pouring thethe cereal, or maybe a dozen tiny decisions had added up like letters until they finally made a word, a phrase, a sentence

Either way, he’d made the decision, and now he stood very still at the kitchen counter, holding his choice in his hands with his coffee, afraid that if he moved, his resolve would crumble He stood there until the coffee went cold, and he was still standing there when Jess caroceries

“Jesus, David,” she said, dropping the bags on the counter, “it’s like an oven in here”

His sister went for the thermostat He sed Three small words, a phrase, a sentence

A decision

“I’ out,” he said

Jess’s hand froze above the AC “Don’t joke about that”

She’d pleaded with hi up Now her eyes brightened with a kind of guarded hope

“I’ out”

The words felt , hard look “What changed?”

“Nothing,” he lied “I just think it’s time”

Jess turned the te her elbows on the kitchen counter between the has it been?” she asked casually, as if they weren’t both counting

297

294

293

He didn’t kno to choose the right number The instant of impact or the aftermath?

“Two hundred ninety-seven,” he said at last, because it had all started there in the snow

“Sure you don’t want to wait for three hundred?” Jess ed a thin sht, like she knew they were on cracking ice The smallest misstep would send the so still

“I’ down at the still-full cup, the coffee long since cold He tightened his grip on the porcelain, and a moment later fresh steam rose from the dark surface A small, conscious effort The line between accidental and intentional ht”

“Okay Great,” said Jess, rousing “This is great I get off work at seven I’ll swing by and we can—”

David shook his head “I need to do this”

Alone The word hung in the air, unsaid but understood Control was all about focus, and he couldn’t do that, not with Jess hovering, studying hiether She hadn’t yet realized that the picture had changed

David had thought about telling her Hell, he’d acted out that conversation a hundred tiht, he would finally do it He’d come home, and he’d call her, and he’d tell her why Samantha had left, and why he’d spent 293 days in his house, and why he kept shivering no h he turned the thermostat up It would all make sense, and she’d knoasn’t crazy He was just scared