I apologized for my behavior.
I thanked the officer and asked that they keep my grandma and me in the loop. He promised they would.
***
Outside the station, I turned to Daniel.
“You saved me.”
He shook his head. “I just did what anyone would’ve done.”
“No. You didn’t just do that. You carried it all this time. And now there might be justice for my parents because of you, again.”
Daniel looked down.
“You saved me.”
I made a decision.
“Come with me,” I said. “To the place it happened.”
Daniel hesitated, but only for a second.
“Okay.”
***
The road looked normal. We didn’t say much when we got there.
I wheeled to the side of the road and stopped. Daniel stood a few feet away.
Then I took a breath.
“I used to think this place was where everything ended. But it’s not. It’s where I stayed.”
He looked at me.
“Come with me.”
“I don’t feel stuck here anymore.”
Daniel nodded as if he understood.
“Thank you. For that night. For telling the truth. And… for asking me to dance.”
A small smile crossed his face.
“Anytime.”
I turned back toward the road.
But this time, I wasn’t the girl who’d been left behind.
I was the one who’d finally found her way forward.
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