THE LAST CT scan showed that all of the blood had receded from my brain, so the doctors were releasing me tonight. “Can’t say I’ll miss this place.” Packing my belongings, I grabbed my birth control, solemnness washing over me before I hobbled out of the bathroom. The feel of the little round cylinder brought a topic to mind that needed to be addressed. My sights landed on my sister, who was folding a shirt on my bed. I flipped the canister over and back again as I slid onto the bed in front of her. Her gaze moved to my hand before traveling to my eyes.
“He told me . . .” I inhaled a shaky breath. "He told me everyone practiced on each other. Friends. Said that you guys did, too.” A short, condescending laugh escaped my lips. “Obviously, that was another lie.”
Abby took a long swallow. Behind her eyes, I could see her mind reeling as she twisted the shirt in her grasp. “Yes, obviously.” Her grip slackened, and she dropped the shirt into her lap. “I just don’t know how I could’ve been so stupid. So blind.”
She needed to know the rest of the truth. “He said . . .” My heart tripped in my chest. “The other day he admitted he would slip you something.”
Her mouth dropped open as the reality of those words sunk in.
“You would always fall asleep. All the time, but I thought you just liked to nap.” Tears welled in my eyes that my sister had fallen victim to Damon as well, in a different capacity. “He said he made sure we wouldn’t be caught. So, you see, it wasn’t your fault, Abby.”
“Oh my God.” Abby’s words floated on a confused, dazed whisper, her eyelashes fluttering through the onslaught of tears at this new piece of knowledge. It broke my heart to know what this was doing to her. “He said he’d never hurt me. That he’d take care of me forever. And I believed him.” Her voice cracked. “He was hurting me the whole time and I didn’t even know it.”
She straightened. “What made me stupid enough to believe he was actually waiting for me?” She practically snarled, her nose red and shiny with restraint. “And the whole thing was his idea! One hundred times I would’ve given in, but he was all,” she deepened her voice with a disgusted curl to her lip, “it’s going to be so special. Meanwhile, it was because . . .” She threw her arms out toward me, her words lingering as she caught herself. Abby swallowed hard, her eyes glassed over, a sheen which mirrored itself in mine as my breath caught in my throat.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“No, it’s okay. It all makes sense now. I’m actually glad . . .” I paused, gathering the right words. “I’m glad he never got to taint you that way. It helps.” The corner of my mouth raised in a half-smile.
“Oh, Eva.” Abby threw herself onto me, wrapping me in an embrace while sobbing into my shoulder. Instead of shushing her or reiterating reassurances, I let my heartbreak seep into her as well, our tears a hurtful river necessary to carry the sorrow away from us and wash us clean of his filth and betrayal.
When we broke free of our embrace, we were each a mess of tears. We washed our faces, the soap and water spiraling down the drain, taking it all away. In the middle of a hospital bathroom, I felt the cleanest I had ever felt as I shut off the water. My soul felt cleansed. I was so used to feeling dirty inside all the time that it felt like I was walking on air, free of the gunk that usually bogged me down as I exited the bathroom. Abby had gone back to the task of folding clothes, while I juggled what remained of my toiletries in both of my hands.
“Talk to Mom and Dad?” I asked her.
“Yeah. They’re still by Blake’s helping his dad get a handle on stuff.”
Blake’s voice drifted in behind me. “Did you ever imagine you’d see the day your parents and mine were hobnobbing?”
A warmth swarmed my chest, a smile spreading as I looked over my shoulder to find him. Comfort always surrounded me the moment he was around. “Not any time soon, at least.”
The look of Blake, so strong and powerful sauntering into my room, stopped my heart. He must have cleaned himself up at home because he was sporting a fresh shave, his hair slicked back and away from his face. Dressed in a faded pair of jeans and a black thermal with the sleeves pushed mid-way up his forearms, I wanted to lunge at him. And I might have if every muscle in my body wasn’t screaming at me in protest.
“You look delicious.” My sights drifted over his chiseled features to the plump lip that was drawing up into a smirk.
“Why thank you,” a second voice responded, a familiar face moving in behind Blake to perch on his shoulder. Eric smiled his boyishly triumphant smile, the way he always did after one of his sarcastic chides.
“Wrong sister,” I responded, moving into Blake’s side and sliding my hand onto his chest.
Abby’s eyes, which had been devoid of any signs of life for the entire afternoon, now sparked as she rose to her feet in an almost dreamlike state.
“That’s the one I wanted anyway.” Eric licked his lips and stood up straighter as his heady eyes locked on Abby before being replaced with a solemn expression. “You good?”
With a tight nod, and a blush to her cheeks, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I will be.”
A smile crawled across Eric’s face as he seemed to take her word. He moved to her side and lifted a pair of pants. “Can I help?”
Longing replaced the heartache in Abby’s eyes as she nodded, and the biggest smile broke out across my face watching their exchange.
A warmth coated my heart seeing all of the parts of this warped story finally find their closure. I was confident that, in time, my family would heal from all of this and move forward even more solid than we were before. That the scabs on our hearts would eventually dry up and fall off, and in their wake only but a sliver of silvery-shine would remain as a reminder. The tiniest of scars reminding us of the silver lining that lay in the darkness. Of the strength that love holds in the face of evil. That when all seems hopeless and lost, there is always a possibility of a second chance. Much like the silver star that rests at the heart of the dainty, sky blue forget-me-nots—a token I would have from year to year, each time they got their second chance. I recalled Audrey Hepburn’s quote at the bottom of the flower box Blake had given me, its purpose never holding as much meaning as it did at this moment.
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”
My eyes slid up to Blake, to my second chance, who was already watching me closely. Then I glanced down to watch his smiling mouth descend to blanket mine, taking me away in a sweet, intoxicating kiss. And as he slipped another little piece of himself inside my heart’s pocket, I was sure I had my answer to the question I asked myself so long ago when I first fell in love with him. That his heart did, in fact, have pockets as well. And as he collected another of my heartbeats, my soul sang a new song—this one the most memorable yet. Of love and life and living. Of freedom and security and breathing.
We’re going to be okay. We’re all going to be okay.