Chapter Twenty Six

The police came not long after. Asher doesn’t fight it. He answers their questions. He goes quiet when they tell him he has to come with them.

My chest won’t slow down. I watch as they take him to the car. My legs feel weak.

He’s just cruel. That’s all there is to it.

All these days, we’ve been waiting. Hoping. Praying for one small answer. And he had one. He had it and kept it to himself. Like it didn’t matter. Like life didn’t matter.

It makes me sick. How did I stay with someone like that? How did I not see it?

The police don’t let me follow. They don’t let me ask anything. They tell me to stay back.

So I called my parents. Again and again. I need them to go there. I need them to ask the questions I can’t.

No answer.

They’re never around when you need them the most.

I pace the house, back and forth, my hands tight at my sides. I keep thinking about Alice. I don’t know if I should call her. She deserves to know. She has to know.

So I text her. I don’t delay. I explain everything as fast as I can.

She calls almost at once.

“Are you sure, Cat?” she asks. “Asher could just be messing with you. He might be trying to get back into your good books.”

I shake my head even though she can’t see me. “No. He wasn’t lying. I know he wasn’t.”

She sniffles on the other end. “It’s going to be okay, Cat. You’ll see him again.”

My eyes burn. “I should be saying that to you, Alice. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t—”

“Don’t do that,” she cuts in. “Don’t blame yourself. I wasn’t the best sister either. I treated Dominic like he was some grown man, like a father. He did everything for me.”

My throat tightens. “Alice… we’ll see him soon.”

“I’m coming,” she says.

The call ends. The quiet rushes back in. It presses down on me. The fear grows louder.

What if he didn’t survive the accident? What if they left his body somewhere no one would find?

A small, stupid part of me refuses to believe it. I walk into the bathroom and turn on the shower. I let the water run over me, hoping it will wash the thoughts away. It doesn’t.

My heart won’t settle. It won’t rest until they find Dominic.

Everything else has stopped. School. Time. My life feels paused, stuck in this one moment, waiting for a name to be spoken out loud.

I try not to let my thoughts run loose, but they do anyway. I tell myself to slow down. It doesn’t work.

A few minutes later, I’m dressed. I don’t even remember choosing the clothes. My hands move on their own. I grab my phone, my keys. I’m heading for the station. I can’t sit here anymore.

I booked a ride. I keep checking the screen like that will make the car come faster.

The door opens behind me.

My parents are back.

Mom stops when she sees me by the door. “Where are you going?”

“The station,” I say. My voice sounds flat, like it doesn’t belong to me.

Dad frowns. “Catherine, wait. We just got a call.”

My heart jumps. “From who?”

“The police,” he says.

I hold my breath. My hands start to shake. I don’t sit. I don’t move. I just stand there, waiting for the rest of it, scared of what the next words might be.

“The police found a lead,” Dad says. “It’s about the band. The one that played at the concert.”

My heart stutters. “What about them?”

“They tracked someone from the crew,” Mom adds. Her voice is careful, like she’s walking on glass.

I grip the back of a chair. My knees feel weak. “Just say it.”

Dad exhales. “Dominic was taken to a private clinic.”

The room tilts. “Taken?”

“He was hurt,” Mom says quickly. “Not… not dead.”

I press a hand to my mouth. My chest burns. I can’t tell if I’m breathing or not.

“He’s receiving treatment,” Dad continues. “They didn’t know who to contact at first. No ID. Nothing on him.”

The words blur together. All I hear is one thing. He’s alive.

I sink into the chair. My body gives up all at once. My hands shake. My eyes fill, but I don’t cry yet. It feels too fragile.

“Where is he?” I whisper.

Dad names the place. I barely hear it.

“I need to see him,” I say.

Mom nods. “We’re going now.”

I text Alice the address before anyone can stop me. I don’t wait for a reply. She needs to know where we are.

Mom keeps looking at me from the front seat. I know that look. She’s checking if I’m about to fall apart. I don’t say anything. Right now, I’m holding on to hope. That’s all I have.

Uncle Zachary pulls into the road. The car moves fast, steady.

The police said the accident happened in a spot with no cameras. No footage. That’s why everything took so long. The band had their own trouble that night, and Dominic got caught in it. He was the one who got hurt.

They couldn’t say how bad it was. Not until we see him.

My chest feels tight. Breathing takes effort. Still, there’s one clear thought in my head—I’m going to see him again.

The car turns onto the main street. I stare out the window. I fix my eyes on the houses passing by, counting them, letting them calm me down.

The sky is bright. Clear. Too beautiful for how scared I feel. I tell myself that seeing Dominic will be like this sky. Simple. Safe.

I shouldn’t have left him that night. I shouldn’t have gone back to Asher. With Dominic, I didn’t have to pretend. I didn’t have to run. I could just be there.

I close my eyes.

I just need one chance. One chance to start over.