My name was written in her handwriting.
“Go on,” Mia said softly.
Carefully, I opened it and began to read.
“Go on.”
“Daryl,
If you’re reading this, then I’ve either found the courage I never had… or I’ve run out of time.
I don’t know how to explain why I stayed away. I’ve tried a hundred times, and every version sounded like an excuse. You were never just someone from my past.
You were the life I thought I would have.”
I paused, trying to steady myself.
“I don’t know how to explain why I stayed away.”
Then I continued.
“I wanted to tell you the truth so many times.
I wrote letters. I kept them.
I told myself I would send them when the moment was right.
But I waited too long. There’s something you deserve to know.”
My heart began to race.
“I wanted to tell you the truth so many times.”
I kept reading.
“After our brief night together in high school… I became pregnant. When I told my parents, they didn’t give me much choice. When I refused to have an abortion, they pulled me out of school.
