‘Deborah, you’ve been dead for so many years. At least it looked that way to me. How do you expect me to make good on that promise?’
‘But I didn’t want to be dead!’ she shouted. ‘I wanted to come back so badly! I wanted to come back to you, but I couldn’t! The thought of never seeing you again almost drove me to suicide, did you know that?’
Deborah covered her face with her hands and sobbed. ‘I was kept a prisoner for seven years. I couldn’t leave the house. There was always someone watching wherever I went. I had no one to talk to. I had no phone. I couldn’t ask for help. I tried to escape, but I—’
‘It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have expected you to wait for me for so many years. I know I’m being selfish, but I just can’t help it!’
Deborah coughed.
She was wheezing.
She clutched at her chest.
‘It’s all my fault. I sh-shouldn’t…I shouldn’t have expected you to…to wait. I…’
‘Deborah?’
Austyn noticed her face getting paler.