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“Oh, no,” Eva said, co to a stop

Lexi was crying so hard, she could hardly tell as going on around her She felt Eva’s grip on her wrist tighten “What’s wrong?” she whispered, not really caring She glanced down the hallway His door was closed now

“Look,” Eva said

Lexi turned, wiped her eyes

A police officer was standing outside her room

Eva held Lexi’s hand as they walked down the hallway At their approach, the officer straightened He pulled a small notepad out of his shirt pocket “Are you Alexa Baill?”

“I am,” Lexi said

“I have a few questions for you About the accident,” he said, uncapping his pen

Eva looked up at him “I may work at Walmart, sir, but I watch Law and Order every week Alexa will be getting an attorney He’ll tell her what questions she can answer ”

Jude shut the door She was shaking so hard it took a real effort to hold on to the knob and pull

“Mom?”

She heard her son’s voice, heard the pain in it, and she moved automatically to his bedside

It here she was supposed to be, where she belonged So she stood there, holding Mia’s purse and pretending to be whole But every time she looked down at the quilted pink leather in her hands, she thought of the stuffed puppy Mia had loved, Daisy Doggy, and the footed jahter’s cheeks had been yesterday …

“It’s my fault, not Lexi’s,” Zach said miserably

“No, it’s…” Jude’s voice broke like an old twig, snapped into quiet She wondered dully if she’d ever be able to look at Zach again without wanting to cry It was all so tangled up—her es of Zach Her babies Her twins But now there was only the one, and when she looked at him, all she saas the empty space beside him where Mia should have been