I nod tightly. “I told myself Eli was asleep, that I’d be back before he woke up. He wouldn’t even realize I was gone. But thenthe shift ran long, and by the time I made it home, he’d gotten hungry.” I give Yulian a watery smile. “He tried to make himselfpancakes.”
I can see it in Yulian’s eyes—the second the horror dawns. “The stove.”
“Eli said a rug had caught on fire. He’d tried to toss it out the window, but then the curtains caught fire, too. He was smartenough to run to Dorothy’s place and tell them what happened. The family called 911.” I bite my lip. “Dorothy was passed outdrunk in her bed. But she was technically a minor, so…”
“So the blame fell on you.”
Yulian’s hand squeezes my shoulder. Guilt pierces me—for what happened back then, for what’s happening now. For leaningon th
