I could barely speak.
Tessa continued, her voice trembling.
“He said Ms. Hart thought I was behind everyone else. He said you asked him to keep bringing me here because you didn’t want me to know right away.”
My chest hurt.
“And you believed him?”
“He said Dad agreed too.”
I closed my eyes.
That explained why she had stopped talking to both of us.
Why she had hidden her shoes.
Why she had looked at me as though I had betrayed her.
“He said you were being nice to my face because you felt bad,” she whispered. “He said eventually I would understand.”
Tessa began crying.
“I thought you were ashamed of me.”
I pulled her into my arms.
“No. Never.”
She stood stiffly for a moment before finally holding on to me.
Then she told me everything.
Colin had started making comments during their drives. At first, they seemed harmless.
