I had never felt so relieved and so frightened in all my life. Judging by the shocked silence that followed my confession, I didn’t know if Daniel was going to call the police and turn me in or spit out some sort of platitude about how it wasn’t my fault. But I didn’t know if I cared anymore. I was ready to face the consequences of what I’d done.

When I finished telling him everything about that night, I told him about the few months I spent trying to binge-drink my guilt away after the accident. How no amount of alcohol could wash away my shame. How I only sobered up because I didn’t want to hurt my mom the way I’d hurt Petra.

Daniel sat on the edge of the leather sofa cushion with his elbows on his knees, staring at his hands. “Did he die?”

I smeared my hands over my cheeks to wipe away tears. “No. I don’t know if he even reported it because I never got a visit from the cops. Maybe he didn’t remember how it happened. I don’t know.” I swiped the back of my hand across my nose, beyond caring about what a mess I must look like to Daniel. “I tried calling Petra at least fifty times when she was in the hospital. I harassed the fuck out of the staff at the rehab center where she went after that. I didn’t want to give up, but she made me. She sent me one text. I still have it.”

I slid my phone out of my purse and navigated to my messages app. Just seeing her name on the message made my chest ache. I hadn’t looked at this message in months.

“She knew me better than anyone. She knew how to get me to leave her alone.”

Daniel let out a long sigh. “What did she tell the cops? Who did she say was driving?”

“She probably told the cops she couldn’t remember who was driving. I don’t think they could prove anything because the owner of the car probably had a solid alibi. All he knew was that he let Petra borrow his car. No one saw me in the car except for Petra and her rapist.”

“But the 9-1-1 call. They had your voice.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. The call was made from her cell phone. My best guess is they played the 9-1-1 call for her and she either said it was her that made the call or that she couldn’t recognize the voice. I was really fucked up and scared when I made the call, and I was crying, so it probably wasn’t super coherent. Either way, it would have been an easy lie for her to tell.”

He shook his head. “Fuck,” he whispered. “This isn’t good.”

“What…what do you mean?”

He shook his head again. “Sorry. That’s not what I meant. I meant to say that…” He reached out and grabbed my hand. “That’s one hell of a friend.”

I was slightly confused by the difference in his two statements, but I cut him some slack due to the heaviness of what I’d just confessed. “Well, she’s not my friend anymore. She made it very clear that she wants nothing to do with me. Besides, what kind of friend leaves their friend unconscious and bleeding in a dark ravine?”

He squeezed my hand. “The kind who doesn’t want her friend to go to prison. You both would have gone to prison if you hadn’t fled the scene.” The muscle in his jaw twitched as he continued with fierce determination in his eyes. “You’re the one who went with her to the party when you didn’t want to. You’re the one who looked for your best friend even though you could hardly walk. You’re the one who dodged a bullet to get your friend to safety. You dialed 9-1-1. You saved her life…twice.”

“Yeah, and I’m the one who drove too fast and put my best friend in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.”

He sighed as he pulled me into his arms, tucking my head under his chin. “You have to call her again.”

“I can’t,” I whispered into his chest.

“You don’t deserve to carry this guilt alone.” He leaned back and grabbed my face so he could look me in the eye. “If she won’t help you carry it, then I will. But you have to promise me you’ll try to call her again. Promise me, Kris.”

I bit my lip as I considered his words. Did he just reach into my dark hole and offer to pull me out? I’d known this beautiful man for less than two weeks, and he suddenly knew more about me than my own mother.

I nodded. “I’ll call her.”