(Caroline's POV)
I'm coming upstairs with a glass of water when Rose's door opens and Helen steps out. She gives me a small smile and goes down the hall to the guest room.
I look at Rose's door for a moment.
Then I knock softly and push it open.
Rose is awake, lying on her back, staring at the ceiling with the focused attention she brings to things she's trying to work through.
"Hey, you," I say softly. "Not sleeping yet?"
She turns her head toward me.
"Caro," she says. "Were you always here? Or did you come after?"
The question is simple. The way she asks it — quietly, without accusation, just needing to know the shape of things — is what moves through me like something cold.
I come and sit on the edge of her bed. I take a moment before I answer, because Rose deserves a real answ
