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“What kind of relationship did your Dad have with your sister before the divorce?” The three of them looked at each other as if they didn’t understand why I was asking.
“They were very close. She was like his shadow. Dad used to spoil her, anything she wanted, she got. And not just Dad, the whole extended family. She was the first and only girl for a very long time on both sides. There wasn’t anything Alyssa didn’t have, and Dad was so proud of her.” Brian finished talking and gazed off into space, and Cameron picked up where he left off.
“Dad used to carry her around on his shoulders; you could hear her laughter all through the house. He was the one who taught us that we must always protect her. The two of them used to play games together, and he’d always read her a bedtime story at night.”
“Isn’t it weird that none of us realized Mom was sick back then? It just seemed natural for Dad to pick up the slack, but we didn’t even realize that there was anything wrong.” Trey clinked the ice in the empty glass in his hand.
“And how was she after the divorce?” Again, they gave it some thought before Brian once again took the lead. “She was very withdrawn. I don’t think she smiled for a very long time after that. She used to cry so hard she’d stop breathing.”
“Yeah, for the first few years, she was like a zombie. You couldn’t get a rise out of her; nothing really interested her anymore. She didn’t really have any friends back then because she stopped doing everything.”
“Then somewhere around the time Trey went away to college, she kinda snapped out of it, I guess. She wasn’t the same; she wasn’t withdrawn and sullen, but she wasn’t like she used to be. Something was missing.”
“Yeah, her warmth. She became kind of methodical. I noticed it the first time I came back from school. At first, I thought Helen or Mitzie had been bullying her, but she said they weren’t. But I realized she stopped talking about Dad.”
“Yup, I noticed that to Trey. Then she stopped asking him to do anything with her. So, the three of us took over. We were there for every graduation, every birthday, every award ceremony. Even if we had to come home just for one weekend, we made sure to be there.” Brian shook his head.
“We didn’t realize that she wasn’t there any longer. It was our sister, sure, but she was a completely different person. Her smile never reached her eyes, and her laugh didn’t sound the same. Those belly laughs that used to make us smile just from hearing them.”
“And you don’t know what you just described!”
“No, what do you mean?”
“She had depression and PTSD.”
“PTSD? What do you mean? There was no violence.”
“That’s not the only thing that can cause it. Her whole world was shattered at a very young age. The man she adored and who she trusted to always put her first betrayed her, and it was a big betrayal. She went from being Daddy’s girl to having to share him with the daughter of the woman who destroyed her family. This is the reality of infidelity and divorce.”
“But, she went to all those therapists, and not one of them diagnosed her with this.”
“That’s because she never spoke to any of them. She’s smart, she knew that they weren’t going to fix her and besides, she didn’t trust them. You three were the only ones she really trusted, even more than her best friend.”
“You think she’s just mad at your parents for keeping this from her, but it’s you who she feels betrayed her this time. She trusted that the four of you were a team. But all along, you and your parents were in cahoots, keeping things from her.”
“But we thought it was for her own good.”
“Yes, Cameron, and eventually, she’d come to see it that way, but right now, all she sees is the betrayal. You need to let her work through it on her own.”
“Will you help us?”
“No, but I’ll help her.” Nice try, little brother, but you’re not dragging me into the trenches with you. Your sister is certifiable. Just before they showed up here to drag me into their shit, I received the second report of the day from my wife’s security team. That nut, with the help of Jackie, had released a rabid raccoon in Denny’s car.
That jackass, instead of going to the hospital, had gone back to his home, so now I have to send someone to save his life because if that shit gets into his bloodstream, he’d be dead in a week.
He should be on his way to the hospital right now if my men did their job correctly. She’s probably not going to be too pleased with me for interfering, but I don’t think she wants his blood on her hands. She might think she does, but at some point, she’s going to regret it.
I have no doubt that I will be putting out fires all over town behind her because the reports have been coming in hard and fast, not just on her but on her enemies and the things she had set in motion to disrupt their lives. If I didn’t know better I’d swear she was deliberately making herself a target, which is something I will not let her do.
If any of these fools get outta line, having their lives destroyed will be the least of their worries.
HELEN
“What the fuck is wrong with you, you bitch?” I jumped up off the old lumpy couch that had to be about thirty years old and faced the old bitch my father was married to. She’d thrown a pitcher of ice-cold water on me while I slept. That shit was not only cold, but it was making my rash itch.
“You been talking about me behind my back. Get the hell outta my house.”
“This is my father’s house. You can’t make me leave.” I hate her as much today as I did the day my father brought her home.
