I pulled a can of Diet Coke from the fridge for Brooklyn and a root beer for me.
“Who was that?” she asked.
“Nobody.” I put the drinks on the counter to grab glasses. “Ice?”
Brooklyn didn’t answer, and when I turned, she had my phone in her hand. “Liar.”
I lunged for the phone. “Give that back.”
She spun and held it away.
I could overpower her and get it back, but the damage had been done, so I went back to the drinks. “Ice or not?”
She sat and scrolled my screen. “Just the can is fine.”
Bringing the drinks over, I set them down and took a seat across from her for the inevitable grilling.
“Have you called her back?” she asked, still scrolling.
“Nope.” There was no sense trying to avoid it. She could tell the answer from my call history.
“Why not?”
“What’s the point?”
“The point? Are you kidding me? The point is you’re acting like such a fucking pussy it’s pathetic.”
“Bullshit. I know what’s right, and I’m doing it.”
“Right for who?”
“For her, for me, for both of us.”
“You should hear yourself. You’re the one shoveling shit here.” She fixed me with an evil glare. “Answer me this. How many women have you taken up to the cabin?”
This was not going in the right direction. “That has nothing to do with anything.”
She didn’t give up. “Before her, how many were there?”
This wasn’t fair, and she already knew the answer. I took a swig of my root beer instead of responding.
She pointed her can at me. “You’re such a pussy. You won’t even answer the question.”
I never was and am not a pussy. “So what if she was the first?”
“So you throw away the one girl who was good enough to take to your precious cabin? How the hell is that the right thing, even for you, much less for her?”
Brooklyn’s words stung. Debbie had been the first I felt right about taking there. “Her family would never let it work.”
Brooklyn smiled.
I’d walked into a trap, it seemed.
“Now we’re getting somewhere,” she said. “You’re scared of her family.”
Those were fighting words. “I’m not scared of anybody.”
“Keep telling yourself that. We both know it’s a lie.” She stood and set down her Coke. “I’ve never been ashamed to be your sister before. Not even when the people at work learned you were in prison.” She walked toward the door and turned. “But I am today.”
I took another gulp of my root beer.
“Pussy,” she called out just before the front door closed with a bang.
After putting down the soda can, I decided it was time for something stronger and pulled out my bottle of Jack.
Debbie
The knock at the door the next afternoon woke me from my nap in the luxurious bed I’d been provided at my aunt and uncle’s house—make that mansion. It was odd. I couldn’t sleep at night with everything happening in my life, but I also couldn’t avoid an unintentional nap after lunch for an hour or so.
I opened the door to find Auntie Robin in the hallway. “Come in.”
After stepping inside, she closed the door behind her—an ominous sign. She held out a faded envelope, folded in the middle. “Your father gave me this.”
My eyes welled up. “Dad?” I took it.
“Yes. I figured you’ve had a chance to get acclimated to your situation, so it’s time you read what he had to say. I didn’t want to overwhelm you earlier.”
A tear streaked down my cheek when I unfolded it. It was addressed to Debbie. “What does it say?”
She sighed. “He gave it to me shortly before he passed. It wasn’t my place to read it.”
Another knock at my closed door interrupted us.
My cousin Serena and her boyfriend, Duke, were in the hall when I opened it.
I refolded the letter and put it in my pocket, blinking back tears and wiping my cheek with my sleeve.
The pair carried helmets.
“You said you wanted to go for a ride,” Duke offered.
My aunt took my elbow for a second. “Later perhaps, guys.”
“Now is later,” Serena said cheerily, reminding me I’d already put them off once.
She and Duke had come back from London yesterday and been eager to get me out on a bike. They’d heard Luke had been teaching me to ride.
“Can you give me a half hour?” I asked.
Serena caught her mother’s look and agreed.
“But you’re not getting out of it,” Duke added before they left.
The door closed behind all of them, and I was alone with my letter.
I took a deep breath before opening it.
My dearest Deb,
As I write this, I know in my heart of hearts that you are still out there somewhere. Unfortunately, I don’t have much time left, and won’t get to see you return to us.
You should know that we never forgot you. Your mother loved you so much. I regret that I couldn’t carry enough of the burden for her, and the sorrow of your abduction was more than she could bear. Please don’t think less of her for what she did.
My sleeve couldn’t keep up with the tears. I got up to retrieve the box of tissues from the bathroom. My tear ducts should have dried up by now with all my recent crying, but the letter brought all my emotions swirling back again.
I sniffled and decided I had to be braver. Anger at what Sylvia and fake Uncle Paul had done to me and my family replaced the sorrow. It was too late for one of them, but I would see Sylvia pay for what she had done to me, and for my real mother’s death.
With the tissues by my side, I picked up the letter again.
:You are a strong girl, and I’m sure you will grow into an even stronger woman. I’m sure you will break free sometime in the future.
Do not let others put limits on what you can be and what you can achieve. You can have anything you put your mind to. Decide what will make you happy, and set it as your true North Star. Keep your goal in mind, and you can have anything, and become anything. Let nobody deny you.
I love you very much. Let this letter always remind you of that truth.
Daddy
The small, circular stains at the bottom of the page were no doubt from his tears as he wrote this, and one of mine dripped from my cheek to join them before I folded the paper, replaced it in the envelope, and pocketed it.
This was staying with me.
Chapter 45
Debbie
When I opened the bedroom door after the next knock, it was Serena and Duke again. “Would it do any good to say I was too tired this afternoon?”
“Of course,” Serena said with a smile. “We’d wait five minutes before trying again.”
I laughed, because that was quite true. Serena had been persistent in her attempts to keep me from being alone the last several nights. She and my auntie had been the only ones I felt comfortable sharing my Luke problem with.
I’d tried to explain some of Luke’s past, without revealing too much of a story that wasn’t mine to tell, but it still seemed like neither of them really got it. They said if he wouldn’t chase me, that was a bad sign. I couldn’t fault that view, but things were more complicated than that. After we talked, Serena hadn’t wanted me to be alone to wallow, as she put it.