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savannah didn't speak.
not right away.
she stared at the woman—her biological mother—like she'd just been slapped across the face. something deep in her chest cracked open, but nothing spilled out. not yet. she wasn't sure if it would come out as a scream or a sob or nothing at all.
jasmine—if that was really her name—didn't move either. her hands stayed on the steering wheel, white-knuckled. her eyes flicked down to the fallen bottle, then back up like she was waiting to see if savannah would run. or hit her. or collapse.
"you're lying," savannah finally said, but even to her own ears, it didn't sound like a declaration. it sounded like a dare.
jasmine's voice was quiet. "i'm not."
"you're not?" savannah huffed, running both hands through her hair, pacing a few shaky steps back and forth on the pavement. "right. okay. so you're just here. after all this time—"
"i wanted to see you before i said anything. i wasn't sure—"
"if i'd be worth the trouble?" savannah took a step closer to the car.
"no," jasmine said, so fast it was almost a flinch. "no, it wasn't like that—"
"then tell me!" savannah snapped. "tell me why i grew up in six different homes, with strangers who didn't give a shit about me. tell me why i've got scars on my back from when i was with you that i don't even remember getting. tell me why you didn't come back for me."
there it was.
the thing she'd never said out loud. not to kirsten. not to sandy. not even to ryan.
jasmine blinked, and for a moment, her face crumpled like she was going to cry. but savannah didn't care. she didn't want tears. she wanted answers. she wanted to feel something other than this gnawing, hollow ache that had been living in her chest since ryan walked out of her life earlier that day.
"i can't explain everything here," jasmine said finally, voice hoarse. "but i swear to you, i'm not here to hurt you. i just wanted to see you. just once."
"well, you've seen me." savannah stepped back, her arms crossed tight. "now what? you gonna disappear again?"
"no." jasmine swallowed. "not unless you want me to."
savannah didn't answer.
the silence stretched.
and then jasmine reached into her glove compartment, pulled out a crumpled scrap of paper, and slid it halfway through the window.
