Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Being the "brother-in-law" was never an easy road.

Forget it. He'd just have to rely on himself.

By the time they reached the hospital, Yates went to collect all sorts of samples. The process dragged on, and it was already late when they finished.

"Vince, let's take Jessy out for dinner tonight-and maybe a walk. She's been cooped up at home for days; it's getting stifling."

"Sure," Vince agreed, thinking it was about time Jessica got some fresh air too. Night fell.

Dawn was breaking in Riverside City.

Timothy opened his eyes and realized he was in a hospital room.

Suddenly, he remembered his phone.

His blood had gotten on Jessy's face he needed to clean it up.

He reached for his phone and only then noticed his upper body was bare-his shirt must've been taken off. Sitting up, he spotted the phone on the bedside table. He grabbed it and lit up the screen.

There, on the screen, was a photo of Jessica. The dried blood had turned black, staining her face in the picture.

He pulled a few tissues from the box, went into the bathroom, and dampened them under the tap. Carefully, he wiped the caked blood from the phone's screen.

Jessica's smiling face emerged again, bright and clear. Timothy's lips curved unconsciously into a faint, wistful smile.

He left the bathroom, flopped onto the hospital bed, and just lay there, staring at Jessica's photo.

him: in seven years of marriage, they'd never taken a single picture together. He'd never taken any candid shots of her. Not even after their son was

vanished

she'd said she

that now, his chest

cheer her up, he'd looked at their enlarged license photo hanging on the wall and, feeling

finally ready to take those wedding photos, she ignored him— wouldn't answer his calls, blocked his number, shut

since she'd first talked about moving

it started

she'd wanted out for

bother apologizing properly, lost his temper, and dismissed

Now, looking back, he

stability, that supposedly unbreakable marriage, had been

power drill were boring straight through his

pictures from

he found a photo of

wasn't with him, her smile was so radiant, so

through the nine-photo grid, and

the faces looked oddly

director Yates had

him on his phone-the director was currently doing a press tour with Vince's promotional

his name. And he

bolt

had only taken

invested