My eyes closed. “Only the truth was left there, Olivia. I wanted Jason to know it. I just never expected the whole town would see it too.”
“What he broke isn’t mine to fix, Olivia. Only he can.”
“The truth? You left a bomb on our doorstep! Mrs. Halvers told the paper she watched Jason slam the door on you. A reporter already came by. She’s telling everyone. EVERYONE.”
“Where is Jason?”
A pause. A long one. “He’s sitting on the floor. And he won’t stop crying.”
My chest tightened. Some part of me, the mother part, ached to reach through the phone and hold him. But my body remained still.
“Tell him,” I answered softly, “that he is loved. He always has been.”
“Merlyn, please, you have to come back. You have to fix this.”
“What he broke isn’t mine to fix, Olivia. Only he can.”
