CHAPTER TWELVE

"I won't go back"

Mr Gregory stopped what he was doing and looked back at me. We were both hiking, having started since morning and were on our way back. It was currently mid afternoon but still pretty cold in February. We were dressed quite snugly in our tracksuits

He stared back at me for a second before he resumed walking. He didn't say anything for a long time

"Can you live with the decision?" He finally asked

I said nothing the whole way home. We were now back at home and I stood on the other side of the kitchen table as he took bottles of water from the fridge and passed one back to me.

Our gaze clashed and held, feeling a shift in the atmosphere. This was an important moment for both of us

"I can. I have to live, and I won't if I go back. I can always find the answers another way. And I will, not just the way I wanted. But I would find them alive" I replied

I had really thought long and hard about it. It was the right thing to do for myself. I had wanted to be at the Academy f