Chapter 5

Jack clenches his jaw and takes it. "Molly, listen to me. Vivian told me she was living here alone. Her mom and brother just came for a couple of days to visit. They'll be gone soon."

I slap him again. "Give. Me. My. Keys."

Vivian laughs coldly and throws the keys on the ground. "Here. Take them. Stop acting like you're the victim all the time, Molly. Nobody here owes you anything."

Jack picks up the keys and hands them to me. He reaches for my head, that old habit, wanting to smooth my hair. I smack his hand away.

He sighs. "Okay. You hit me, you yelled, you got it out of your system. Can we talk now?"

Every ounce of strength drains out of me. My voice comes out quiet, but I've never been more certain of anything in my life.

"There's nothing to talk about. Starting today, you and I have nothing to do with each other."

"Jack. We're done."

The color vanishes from his face. All of it, all at once, like someone pulled a plug.

"Molly. Let's talk about this."

I try to close the door. He catches it, forces himself inside.

I don't have the energy to push him out. So I walk through the house instead, room by room, surveying the damage.

Jack follows. He's seeing it too, and even he looks stunned. This used to be a home he knew well.

The entryway is buried under dirty shoes and takeout containers. Every room is the same. On the balcony, Mom's plants have been kicked over, the pots stuffed with cigarette butts. The air inside is stale and rancid. Every trace of warmth my parents left behind has been smothered.

And then I see it.

The family photo. The only one we ever took, the three of us. It's been tossed into a corner of the couch. The glass in the frame is shattered. A layer of dust covers everything.

I kneel down and pick it up. I try to press the cracked pieces of glass back together, even as the edges slice into my fingers. Blood smears across the photo. I don't feel it.

Jack watches, horrified. He grabs my hands. "Molly. Stop. You're cutting yourself."

Hot tears fall one by one onto the back of his hands.

He stares at me. His mouth opens and closes, but nothing comes out.

All he can do is pull me into his arms and rub the back of my neck. "Molly, please don't scare me. This is all my fault. Please don't scare me, okay?"

I sob in broken, jagged breaths.

This house is the last thing my parents left me. Since they died, it's the only place in the world where I can still feel them. The only proof that a kind, loving couple once existed on this earth and that they loved me.

The door crashes open. A locksmith, Vivian, and Dylan.

Vivian sees me in Jack's arms and can't resist. "Oh, would you look at that. Putting on a show again. Didn't you just say you were breaking up with him?"

"God, Molly. You're pathetic."

Jack's eyes are red with fury. "SHUT UP!"

Vivian has never heard gentle, patient Jack raise his voice at her like that. Her temper flares right back.

"You're yelling at ME, Jack? If I'd known this dump belonged to Molly's dead parents, I never would have set foot in it."

"A house where people died? Disgusting. You should be grateful I was generous enough to live here at all."

Dylan grins behind her. "Yeah, take what you get and shut up about it. What are you gonna do?"