“You remember?”
“You blamed the wall.”
“The wall is crooked.”
She smiled.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You installed it after two beers.”
“One.”
“Three.”
“Historical revisionism.”
She laughed.
The sound felt dangerously normal.
Jack stopped working.
Elena noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s not true.”
“You used to say that.”
“I remember.”
Silence.
Jack wiped his hands.
“Why did you move across the street?”
She looked down.
“I didn’t choose the exact house.”
“What?”
“My attorney found three rentals within walking distance.”
“And?”
“I picked the one where I could see your porch.”
Jack’s jaw tightened.
“That sounds creepy.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
Elena looked toward the house.
“Because I wanted proof you were real before I ruined your life again.”
Jack’s anger softened unwillingly.
“You thought telling me would ruin my life.”
“I didn’t know.”
“You could have called.”
“I tried thirty-seven times.”
Jack stared.
“What?”
“I had your number.”
Her voice became embarrassed.
“I would dial the first six digits and stop.”
“Thirty-seven.”
“At least.”
“That is ridiculous.”
“I know.”
“Stop saying—”
They both stopped.
Then laughed.
First small.
Then harder than the moment deserved.
When laughter faded, Elena leaned against the workbench.
“I’m sorry.”
Jack looked away.
“For what part?”
“All the parts that were mine.”
He turned back.
“That’s different.”
“I know.”
She smiled faintly.
“What parts were yours?”
Elena took time.
“Believing Keane when he said you rejected me.”
Jack waited.
“Not demanding independent verification earlier.”
Another pause.
“Letting fear become obedience.”
Jack’s face tightened.
“You were being protected.”
“I was also terrified.”
“That matters.”
“Yes.”
She looked at him.
“But fear explains choices. It doesn’t erase consequences.”
Jack stared at her.
“That sounds like something Dr. Cole said.”
“It is.”
He laughed softly.
Elena smiled.
“And the biggest thing?”
“What?”
“I spent the first few years telling myself I was staying away because Sophie was safer without me.”
Her eyes filled.
“At some point, part of that became fear that if I found a way back and you both hated me, I wouldn’t survive knowing.”
Jack did not speak.
Elena continued.
“That part was selfish.”
He appreciated that she named it.
No grand absolution.
No claim every decision had been forced.
Some were fear.
Some were protection.
Some were both.
Jack leaned against the car.
“I hated you.”
Elena nodded.
“I understand.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“I mean I needed to hate you.”