Chapter Ten

Fourteen Years Ago

Janessa’s POV

The picture frame was still in my hand when Aunt Lauren finally left the kitchen. My chest felt heavy, like every breath was pushing against a wall inside me. My thoughts were moving too fast to catch, tumbling over each other until they blurred into noise.

Eric hadn’t said anything after murmuring my name—he just stood there, close enough that I could feel his presence, far enough that I couldn’t read his expression.

Roy had gone outside to help unload the rest of the groceries, leaving the house in a rare silence. The kind that felt too big, too empty.

I kept staring at those smiling faces in the photograph. It was just a rectangle of glass and wood, but in my hands, it felt heavier than bricks. My lips trembled, but I pressed them together until they hurt.

Eric stepped closer, his voice low. “You don’t have to look at it if it hurts.”

I shook my head, swallowing the lump in my throat. “It’s not that simple.”

“Why?”

My grip tightened on the frame unt