Chapter 10
Six months later.
It was summer. The sun was shining, and the air smelled like cut grass and barbecue.
Our backyard was full of people.
Mom was flipping burgers on the small grill we’d bought at the thrift store. Ethan was running around with Javi, his friend from the shelter, chasing each other with water guns, laughing so hard they could barely breathe.
Officer Hayes was sitting at the patio table, eating potato salad, talking to Clara. Mia was there too, helping me make lemonade.
We’d moved into a bigger house a month earlier. It had a porch, and a bigger backyard, and three bedrooms. Mom had gotten a promotion at the daycare, and we could finally afford it.
It was perfect.
I leaned against the porch rail, holding a glass of lemonade, watching everyone.
Ethan skidded to a stop in front of me, his face wet, grinning.
“Look!” he said, pointing at the sunflowers along the fence. They were taller than me now, their big yellow heads bright in the sun. “I grew them!”
“You did,” I said, smiling. “They’re awesome.”
He ran off again, yelling for Javi to wait for him.
Mom walked over to me, wiping her hands on her apron.
“Having fun?” she asked.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
She handed me a small box, wrapped in blue paper.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Open it.”
I tore off the paper.
Inside was a necklace. A small silver sunflower charm, on a thin chain.
I looked up at her, surprised.
“For the girl who saved us,” she said, soft. “You were so brave, Chloe. Braver than any kid should ever have to be. I want you to have this, to remind you how strong you are. How far we’ve come.”
I turned the charm over in my hand. It was cool, smooth.
“Help me put it on?” I asked.
She nodded, and I turned around. She fastened the clasp around my neck, and the charm settled against my chest, right over my heart.
I touched it, smiling.
“Thank you,” I said, turning back to her.
She hugged me, tight.
“I love you,” she said.
“I love you too.”
We stood there for a minute, watching the party.
Ethan tripped over a garden hose, and fell into the grass. He popped right back up, laughing, and sprayed Javi with his water gun.
Officer Hayes looked over at us, and raised her soda can in a toast.
Clara waved, grinning.
Mia ran over to me, holding two cookies.
“Your mom made these,” she said, handing me one. “They’re amazing.”
I took a bite. It was chocolate chip, warm, perfect.
For a second, I closed my eyes.
I thought about that night, a year and a half earlier. The rain. The closet. The fear that had been so big I thought it would swallow me whole.
I thought about the nightmares, the panic attacks, the way I used to check the locks three times every night.
Then I opened my eyes.
I looked at my mom, happy and strong, flipping burgers on the grill.
I looked at Ethan, running around the yard, loud and carefree, no idea how scared I’d been that night.
I looked at my friends, the people who’d helped us, who’d kept us safe.
I touched the sunflower charm around my neck.
I didn’t feel scared anymore.
I felt safe.
I felt loved.
I felt strong.
Justice wasn’t just a word, or a judge’s sentence, or a man in prison.
It was this.
The sun on my face.
The sound of my brother laughing.
My mom’s hand in mine.
A necklace with a sunflower charm, a reminder of how far we’d come.
A life that was ours, finally, completely ours.
I smiled, and took another bite of cookie, and watched the sun set over our backyard, painting the sky pink and gold.
Everything was okay.
May you like
Everything was more than okay.
We were home.
