Josie
I wished I hadn't said anything.
The second the words left my lips, I regretted them. They hung in the air, heavy and accusing, and I wanted nothing more than to swallow them back, to pretend I hadn't said Michelle's name at all. Especially not to Marcy.
The look on her face said everything. Her features froze mid-emotion—eyes wide, lips parted like she'd just caught her breath and didn't know what to do with it. There was no relief in her gaze, no comfort, just a dawning horror, edged with disbelief.
I turned to face the wall, curling into myself. Maybe if I stayed like this, maybe if I didn't look at her, the moment would pass. Maybe she wouldn't ask me to explain.
But Marcy wasn't like that.
She shifted on the bed, and I felt her hand lightly touch my shoulder, coaxing. "Josie," she said gently. "Sweetheart, what did you just say?"