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She was asking me to tell her that she wasn’t alone

"Yes," I said, h as Vivvie’s, "I have"

I thought ofbeyond a shadow of a doubt that there was so that if I told anyone, I would be betraying hiht of that had been a constant: there when I woke up in the ht There with every breath

I sed "The worst part was knowing that it wouldn’t stay a secret forever" I was generally better at listening than I was at talking, but I thought that maybe, if I let myself shoeakness, she’d showwould coh"

Vivvie stopped walking "What if that wasn’t the problem?" she asked, a desperate note in her voice I could feel her hurtling toward the point of no return, the words pouring out of heryou kneould stay secret? Forever No one would ever know Not unless you told the Thather

"Tell me," I said "You need to tell someone, so tell , I can’t, I can’t, I can’t

I didn’t let her say it "You can tell me, Vivvie Haven’t you heard? I’m Tess Kendrick Worker of miracles Resident Hardwicke fixer"

I wasn’t any of those things I didn’t want to be any of those things But this was Vivvie, who’d offered to cheerher favorite ro in front of me

"I can’t" Vivvie sucked in a breath of air

"It’s about your father, isn’t it?"

Vivvie couldn’t bring herself to tell uess

"You know so it a state about your father and Theo Marquette" Vivvie had broken down at the wake She hadn’t been back to school since the daythe announcement about Justice Marquette’s death on the news

As far as guesses went, it was an educated one

"Maybe you think it was your dad’s fault," I continued Noas just stabbing in the dark "He was the justice’s doctor His surgeon And Justice Marquette died fro the li

Think, I told " No reaction from Vivvie "Maybe he operated tired, or inebriated, or maybe you just think he made a mistake"

Vivvie broke then "He didn’t make a mistake," she said fiercely "My dad doesn’t make ain, terrified but deterrandfather die, Tess" Vivvie bowed her head "I’m pretty sure he killed him"