She shot to her feet and threw herself at me. I was standing right at the top of the stairs—she slammed into me full force and we went down together, tangled, tumbling the whole way.
The violent collision tore her dress open at the shoulder.
I saw the scar on her shoulder—a distinctive petal shape—and my entire body went rigid.
The first year Eugene and I were together,
he'd told me about his father.
His father had cheated when he was young and brought a woman home.
That woman had a little girl with her, and the little girl had a petal-shaped scar on her shoulder.
Because of that woman, his mother killed herself.
After his mother died, his father threw the woman and the child out. He'd heard the woman's life fell apart after that.
I jerked my head toward Eugene.
"Eugene, she—"
