crying so hard that I could barely understand her.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
I took his face in my hands. “Stop.”
“I left.”
“You were 16 years old.”
“I left with him.”
“You did your best.”
“I should have gone home.”
“You’re safe now. That’s all that matters.”
She looked at me as if she didn’t understand.
Michael hugged us both.
“We believe you,” he said.
Nora looked at him. “Everything?”
” All. “
“Don’t you think I was stupid?”
Michael’s voice broke.
“I think you were only 16 years old.”
That’s when she really broke down.
We talked for hours.
Not enough to make up for eight years. Far from it. But it was already a good start.
We asked him to come home.
She shook her head.
At first, it hurt.
Then she explained it to us.
She had an apartment, a job, friends, a therapist, and savings.
