used to think you were so cool,” Summer
said, “But now I take it back. You’re just afraid
to express yourself.”
I curled my fingers.
“I’ll go first,” Summer said. “Jane, you’re my
best friend, and I care about you.”
<
It was just a sentence, but it felt like my body
was being reconstructed from the ground up, to
the point that I was able to hear my own
breathing for the first time.
I said, “I care about Summer too. And I was
jealous of Summer and her parents at the party.
It was nice.”
Summer smiled through her tears.
She reached for my hand, but accidentally
knocked something over.
It fell to the floor.
It was a journal.
The pages opened, revealing dates and notes.
14
:
<
It was Amy’s diary.
She had written down her feelings.
The pages were full of her struggles and cries
for help.
The more I read, the more fragmented and
desperate the writing became.
It was a clear picture of what it was like to live
in that suffocating house.
The last entry was from this time last year.
Amy wrote, “If I get another life, I don’t want to
be mom’s daughter.”
Then: “I’m bad. How could I be so ungrateful?
I’m in so much pain. Am I sick?”
That was the end of Amy’s diary.
<
8:03
But the writing changed.
There were no more dates, and the writing was
even more disorganized.
“I watched the security footage, and I didn’t
understand why you didn’t try to move when the
car came at you. Now I get it.”
“Amy, please help your brother. What am I
supposed to do?”
“Why did they bring back another girl? When I
see her, I see you. Every second, I’m scared
she’ll end up like you.”
“Why won’t she leave? Even after she ruined
the party, Mom didn’t kick her out.”
“It’s too late.”
“The soil is rotten. Nothing will grow here.”
8:03
78
“Amy, what am I supposed to do?”
The unspoken pain was melting the cold words.
My blood was freezing.
Summer’s eyes glazed over.
She looked up, but her eyes stopped on
something behind me.
I turned around and saw David.
He was staring at me.
The room was so silent, I could hear him.
breathing.
15
David grabbed me and hugged me.
“I’m sorry” David said crving “I heard
<
8:03
78
“I’m sorry,” David said, crying. “I heard
everything you said. I shouldn’t have been such
an idiot. I’m so sorry.”
“Summer told me not to keep things bottled
up,” I said, “So I want you to know that you
don’t have to worry about me here.”
“I didn’t know about your past. I treated you
terribly.”
David’s attitude was familiar.
When you’ve been trapped for so long, your
senses get twisted.
People on the outside see you as a caged
animal, but the people on the inside don’t know
any better.
Maybe I was finally getting out.
く
And so was David.
“David.”
“Yeah?”
“I can’t breathe.”
David let go of me.
He still looked sad.
His eyes were still cold.
16
David took me to the cemetery.
He wanted me to meet Amy.
We took the certificate and the diary.
David said that Amy kept the diary at school.
8:03
72
Then it ended up in Tammy’s hands, and finally
with him.
Amy didn’t want anyone to see it.
David had been hiding it.
He was going to give it back to Amy.
It was raining, so David was driving slowly.
Olivia was waiting at the gate, looking impatient.
When David got out of the car, Olivia frowned.
“Why did you have to go back?”
“I didn’t think she could find it.” David opened
the passenger door and brought me out.
Olivia looked surprised to see me with David.
“You changed your tune.”
r
David didn’t say anything.
We walked over, and the wind made me shiver.
Olivia glanced at me. “Don’t you know to put on
a jacket when it’s cold? You have everything
you need.”
“I didn’t bring one.”
Olivia: “Then take your brother’s, he has one”
“Here Jane, take it!” David said.
But as I was walking across the street, I heard
tires screeching-
I turned and saw a car speeding towards me.
I only froze for a second.
With the horns blaring and the car getting
<
But I didn’t feel any pain.
