Page 47 (1/2)

I’ll be left with nothing No sign they were ever mine at all

Carina reaches for me I flinch away, still wired with tension, but she takes ht

"I’m so sorry," she whispers, her beautiful face stricken "Oh God, Garrett, I’m so sorry I didn’t ry at myself, not you You’ve been better toino You weren’t to know I shouldn’t have even brought it up"

Carina cradles my hand to her chest I should pull away, I’ve already said too o The touch of her skin is pure silk, a brief ray of golden light shining through the storoodness, leave the dark behind forever

Her blue eyes blink nervously She bites her lip "You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to," Carina starts, hesitant "But…what happened? How did they die?"

Die?

I stare at her, confused Then it crashes through one forever…

She thinks they’re dead

"It’s not like that" I finally pull away, shameful "They’re not…I ht of the painful truth

"They’re just notconfused

Guilt stabs through in with God knohat she’ll think of me, but if anyone deserves the truth, Carina does She’s been braver than anyone I’ve ever known: facing her own past head-on, never once flinching fro with ht make her look

If she can do it, then so can I

"Her name was Charlotte," I start, my voice hoarse with all the tiuess We met after my first tour in Iraq, in a bar off-base I enty-two, and she was eighteen It was her friend’s bachelorette, and they were all wearing costumes, you know, the sashes and crowns"