For the first time, there is no arrogance left.
“Olivia, I—”
You raise one hand.
“No.”
She stops.
“You laughed when he hurt me,” you say.
Her eyes drop.
“You stood in my parents’ doorway and watched him drag me by my hair.”
“I was scared,” she whispers.
“So was I.”
That silences her.
The deputy returns after placing Jason in the patrol car. He takes Megan’s statement on the porch. She tries to make herself small, useful, confused. You recognize the performance because you performed it for years to survive Jason.
But Megan is not trapped.
She chose to come.
She chose to laugh.
She chose to believe she would benefit from your breaking.
When the deputy asks whether she helped prepare the documents, she says no.
Mr. Thompson quietly produces a printed email.
Megan’s name is on it.
Her face collapses.
You do not feel satisfaction.
