Chapter 1

The argument with Jake still echoed in my head, his words about Emily, his excuses.

I drove to our first apartment, the tiny one-bedroom we kept for reasons I didn't understand anymore.

It was supposed to be sentimental, now it was just a place to hide.

The air inside was stale, thick with dust and old memories.

I dropped my keys on the rickety kitchen counter.

This place hadn't changed much, unlike us.

I remembered us here, young and broke, sharing cheap Chinese takeout on the floor, laughing about a future that seemed so bright then.

My stomach twisted.

That future was a lie.

My current life, the comfortable suburban house, the successful husband, it was all built on a crumbling foundation.

Jake, my Jake, the boy I fell in love with, was gone.

Replaced by a stranger who shared his face but not his heart.

A stranger who was having an affair with Emily, a girl we' d helped.

I sank onto the old, lumpy sofa, the springs groaning under my weight.

Tears pricked my eyes, hot and familiar.

I was so tired of crying.

A sudden noise from the bedroom made me jump.

A thump, like something heavy falling.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

Was it Jake? Had he followed me?

"Jake?" I called out, my voice trembling.

No answer.

I got up slowly, my legs unsteady.

I pushed the bedroom door open a crack.

And then I saw him.

Not my Jake, not the Jake I' d fought with an hour ago.

This was a boy.

He was standing by the window, looking out, his back to me.

He wore a faded band t-shirt I hadn' t seen in years, baggy jeans, and scuffed sneakers.

Late-90s fashion, unmistakable.

His hair was longer, shaggier.

He turned, and my breath caught in my throat.

It was Jake.

But not Jake.

It was Jake from fifteen years ago.

Eighteen years old, confused, and staring right at me.

His eyes, young and bright, widened.

"Sarah?" he asked, his voice cracking a little, the way it used to.

He looked around the small room, then back at me, his confusion deepening.

"Where... where am I? This looks like our old place, but... different. And you..."

He took a step closer, his gaze searching my face.

"You look older. Sad."

His words, so direct, so innocent, hit me harder than any of current Jake' s accusations.

This boy, my boy, saw the truth in an instant.