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mug, my fingers tingling as the heat seeped through them. I took a sip of sweet chocolate. Swallowing, I enjoyed the warm sensation that traveled down my throat, spreading throughout my chest, and then to the rest of my body. I sighed in contentment, leaning back into the leather couch. I noticed Damien watching me, empty-handed.
    “Where’s your drink?”              
    He shook his h ead, his expression serious. “I’m not the one who tried to drown myself in the rain.”
    Pausing mid-sip, I looked down into the brown murkiness of my drink. Somehow, it was not as appealing as it was moments ago. Pulling my knees up, I cradled the mug close to my chest. My fingers tapped the top of the porcelain, stalling.
    “Will you tell me what happened?” he asked.
    He wasn’t asking if I wanted to tell him, but asking would I. They were two very different things.
    It was silent for a couple minutes after that, neither of us saying or doing anything. Just sitting—Damien with his persistent inquiry, and me with my unyielding privacy.
    I put the mug down and turned to face him, taking in his defined, dark eyebrows and the cut outline of his jaw. “I don’t even know who you are.”
    He studied my face, observing me with his calm confidence. “But do you trust me?”
    My mouth opened in surprise, taken aback by his question. How could I trust him when I barely knew him? Haunting words floated into my mind—Alina Ivanova’s voice low, eerie, and so penetrable that I could almost smell the incense.
    “Be careful who you trust ...”
    A brief moment of fear breached my emotio ns, tapping my senses. And yet an indiscernible force drew me towards him, summoning me.
    “Something happened up here last summer. I’ve never really talked to anyone about it.” I stared into the safety of his eyes, and he willed me to continue, securing me in his gaze. He gave a brief nod.
    “E very two years or so, my dad’s side plans a family reunion. My dad has two older brothers and a younger sister, Aunt Heidi. She’s always been my favorite. And her nine-year-old daughter and I—we were close.” The past tense pained my face.
    “ Maddie loved the river. We both did. Any chance we had, we’d run over there. We always took our shoes off at the same place, right next to this giant pine tree. We used to race each other to the river to see who could get across the fastest without falling in. It didn’t matter that I was seven years older. She loved competition more than anyone I know.” I gave a quiet laugh in bitter remembrance, followed by a sorrowful sigh.
    Damien waited with patience while I wrestled with my emotions, preparing to voice details I’d never shared.
    “It was our last afternoon at Hidden Pines, so, of course, we were playing in the trees. We were told to be home by dinner, especially since it had been storming the last couple of days. We lost track of time and it started raining again. Maddie ran to the river, wanting to cross one more time before we had to leave. I chased after her.
    “She tried crossing the rocks to the other side of the river. And then it all happened in a split second. She slipped. The river was rushing fast, the current so much stronger that year.” My voice picked up in pitch and speed, recalling the final moments with Maddie, aloud for the first time since that day.
    “I—I tried to save her. Her hands were on the branch and all I needed to do was pull her in. But I fell. She was right there and I let her go!” The helpless tears that I thought were dried up resurfaced with the memory, cascading down my cheeks. I threw my hands over my face, hiding my shame, my guilt.
    Damien circled me in his arms, pulling my head against his warm chest. He let me cry. He didn’t hush me when I wailed with a grief so heavy I felt I was sinking in the river all over again. My body shook against him. My sobs tore at the wall I had built to barricade myself from my emotions—pain, misery, guilt,