One week since the trip to the mountains. Nearly a week since Rivi’s entire past shattered into fragments of lies

Thursday. One week since the trip to the mountains. Nearly a week since Rivi destroyed her relationship with Ezra’s family.

“You haven’t destroyed it,” Ezra says soothingly, but he looks away from her as he says it, confirmation that he’s doing his best to be supportive when he’s just as frustrated with Rivi as his siblings are. “You can fix this. You were doing something good.”

“And I used it to humiliate Suri and Avi in front of the whole family.” The smoke has cleared, and Rivi is fully aware of how awful she’d been.

Thursday. One week since the trip to the mountains. Nearly a week since Rivi’s entire past shattered into fragments of lies.

She can’t think about that. If she thinks about it, she’ll think about nothing else and go around in circles, obsessing over who she is, and before long, she’ll catapult herself into an abyss of despair she might never claw herself out of.

It’s easier to focus on Suri.

“I’m going to fix it,” she promises Ezra, who looks relieved at the reassurance.

“I tried to downplay it after you left,” he assures her. “I don’t think anyone really believed me, but there’s a chance that Suri will let it go. This is on Avi for hiding it from her, not us.”