Before I Die

Zoey and Tessa go to the beach; the weather is still overcast, and they are among the only people there. They visit a nearby hotel where Tessa’s family used to vacation. Tessa tells the woman proprietor at the hotel that her family always stayed in a certain room. The proprietor asks her if she would like to reserve this room again for the night, and Tessa says yes, ignoring Zoey’s frantic warnings.

In the room, Tessa tells Zoey about a time when she and her mother hid in this room’s closet. Her mother was fighting with her father and wanted to teach him a lesson by making him worry about her. Tessa and her mother wrote their names on the inside of the closet door, and she wants to see if they are still there.

Zoey is unmoved by this story and wants to leave. The two have another fight, and Zoey reveals that she is three months pregnant. Tessa calculates that Zoey’s baby (should she decide to keep it) will be born in May, which is also the month of Tessa’s birthday. She checks the closet door, which has been repainted.