That night, Lucas lay awake, eyes fixed on the ceiling. He replayed the flashes over and over, trying to will them into order. But they were fragments—blurry and slippery. His head throbbed from the effort. Eventually, sleep took him, heavy and dreamless.
Thanksgiving break was approaching, and plans were neatly in place. Lucas would visit home first, then fly to Rose’s for the weekend. She was excited to introduce him to her parents. “It’s perfect,” she’d said, grinning. And it was—except for the unease still lodged in Lucas’s chest.