Ella sat on the edge of her bed, an empty pill bottle in one hand, a vial of clear fluid in the other.

She thought back through the plan as Bart had explained it to her. She’d sent the text to Mary and then placed her phone in the drawer where she could easily find it. Hopefully, her friend would get there first or else her dad could figure out she and Bart were up to something.

The note was on her nightstand. It had seemed so weird to write to her family as if she were actually about to take her own life, something she’d never even considered before,...