Hannah

"You're making it sound like she disappeared with somebody," Ashley said. "She didn't. We just don't know what happened after the bar." Hannah sat at the kitchen table in the short black dress she'd worn to Kelly's bachelorette party. Her hair was still damp. At some point before coming home, she'd showered, though she couldn't remember doing it. Her lipstick was smeared, her dress disheveled, and several bruises marked her skin. She'd complained of soreness when she woke. Her phone had been switched off all night. She'd gone out with Ashley, Lauren, Brittany, and Madison. You'd expected a late night and a few missed messages. Instead, Hannah had come through the front door unsteady, looking as though she'd been through something she couldn't remember. She recalled stumbling inside, sore and exhausted, then collapsing on the couch. "I saw her talking to Rick," Lauren said. "But he left early. Before things got really blurry." "Jamie and Josh were there, too," Brittany added. "Mike, and maybe Cory. We were drinking. I don't remember Hannah leaving with anybody." "Because she didn't," Ashley said quickly. Then her certainty faltered. "I mean, I don't think she did." Hannah's eyes lifted. "Can everybody stop talking about me like I'm not sitting here?" The refrigerator hummed. Nobody answered. They'd spent the morning trying to reconstruct the missing hours. None remembered leaving the bar. None could explain how Hannah got home, why her phone was off, or what happened before she reached your door. You'd been married long enough to know she'd normally call if plans changed, even if she was running late. Now an entire stretch of last night had no explanation. "I didn't cheat on you," Hannah said. Her fingers closed around her wedding ring. "I know I can't prove that. But I wouldn't do that to you." For once, she had nothing else to say.