Ronan had been her boyfriend for almost a year, although she stopped using that word around me because she knew how I felt about him.
There was nothing obviously terrible about the boy. He worked after school, treated Elise politely, and had plans to become an electrician. But his grades weren’t impressive, and his mother, Bethany, had raised him alone after a difficult divorce.
I had spent years imagining a certain future for my daughter.
College. A degree. A good career. Stability.
Ronan didn’t fit the picture.
Elise knew it.
She looked at me for several seconds before saying quietly, “You always say trust isn’t the problem.”
Then she walked toward Jonah’s car.
That was the last conversation we had for eleven months.
At 11:47 that night, the principal called.
