3
Effie
Effie had thought she’d been cried out, but by the time she’d reached the end of the Smiths’ cabin’s driveway, her tears were blinding.
There’s no way I can be around anyone like this.
She didn’t even have to think about it. Effie angled the SUV towards the trailhead of the familiar chipped paths she’d explored with King all through high school.
It soothed her, just the sound of her footsteps in the wild. Like she was a teenager again, she easily picked out the sounds in the forest that hugged the outskirts of the city. Dark-eyed junco. American Goldfinch. Northern cardinal.
It was here, her junior year, that she’d first told King she wanted to be a vet tech. He’d laughed and joked that it was good her relentless memorization of bird songs would come in handy.
She knew her D
