wouldn’t fall backwards. She picked up her pace, thought about Harper on the roof, and hollered at him without turning around, “Then I guess I should say good luck. I’m going to run on ahead now. It’s getting dark. You can turn back.”
But she heard Shane’s boots clumping behind her. His heavy breathing was just over her shoulders, “Goddamn it! You’re so much like your sister.” Shane said as he laughed. “And just like her, I going to show you there’s a yes inside every no.”
***
Fitzie had used a large protruding root to get out of the ditch. She remembered holding a rock above her head, and that she threw it hard at Shane. But that was the last thing she remembered. She was alone in the meadow, unsure of what time it was, unsure if what happened had actually happened. The white alyssum glowed under moonlight and for a moment she felt like she was inside a constellation and needed gravity to carry her home. As she followed the road east she whispered her name over and over, reminded herself that it hadn’t changed, that she’s still Fitzie even if she’s not the same.
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