Time did not soften anything.
It hardened me.
My family made it worse, though they never admitted it.
Madison cried and told everyone I was jealous of her marriage.
My mother said, “Rachel, maybe you made a mistake and don’t remember.”
My father told me, “You always did have trouble accepting when someone else was doing better.”
Jason said almost nothing.
That was the clever part.
He never accused me directly.
He only looked disappointed.
He only said things like, “I wish Rachel would get help processing this,” and, “I don’t want this to divide the family,” and, “For Madison’s sake, I won’t say what I know.”
He made silence look noble.
And everyone believed him.
But there was one thing Jason did not know.
A records technician at the review office had noticed an inconsistency.
Not enough to clear me then.
Enough to make him uneasy.
