I can't. You can't rewrite the past.

That is all that happened. Why did you hear something else?

Half of them kept repeating my name, trying to get it right, while the other half laughed. But they were harmless. Fun drunks make a nice addition to any party: Not looking to fight. Not looking to score. Just looking to get drunk and laugh. I remember those guys. Like the mascots of the party. "Clay! Whatcha doon here? Bah-ha-ha-ha!

I sat. And I thought. And the more I thought, connecting the events in my life, the more my heart collapsed.

Because no, I didn’t push her away. I didn’t add to her pain or do anything to hurt her. Instead, I left her alone in that room. The only person who might’ve been able to reach out and save her from herself. To pull her back from wherever she was heading. I did what she asked and I left. When I should have stayed.

Actually, I love trying to figure out why certain books become hits while others, which may be just as good, have trouble finding an audience.

And everyone knows you can’t disprove a rumor.