AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, what if he doesn’t come back?” Harry asked. He’d demolished one sandwich and was unwrapping the second.
“Then at least he’s not tryin’ to kill you.” She closed her eyes and gave her head a shake. Then said, “You need a shower.”
He lowered his head and sniffed. “I stink?”
“It’s nice and manly. Don’t fret. I needed one, too. Aunt Chelsea brought us some clean clothes. They let me use a shower down the hall. I thought I’d let you sleep for a while.” She set the brown paper bag on the bed. “You can use the shower right in here.”
“That bathroom’s for patients only,” he said, repeating what he’d been told.
“Then you’d best be quick so you don’t get caught. How often they come in?”
“Once an hour, need ’em or not,” he said. He had not intended to sleep at all, so he’d been grateful for the hourly interruptions. If he slept, he was afraid his sister might die.
If he showered, she might die.
“When was the last visit?” Maria asked, shaking him out of his insane thought.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. “Fifteen minutes ago.” His gaze slid back to his sister in the bed. And then her face changed into his mother’s beautiful face, the last time he’d seen it.
“Then you have time. And I promise, I won’t leave her side.” She put a palm to his cheek. “She’ll be fine. I promise. The drug’ll wear off soon.” Maria pushed his clothes into his arms. She’d taken the things out of the bag. There was soap and shampoo on top of the stack.
“Thank you.”
“Are you okay?"
He wasn’t sure. He looked back at the bed. Lily was Lily again. God, she looked like Mom.
For a moment, his mother appeared in his mind, her angel-hair flying as she twirled, laughing and holding his hands. In his mind she’d told him Lily was all right.
Maria pressed her palms to his chest. “Harry?”
He met her eyes. Could she see the tears in his? They’d pooled up a little. He blinked. “I’ll be fast.” And he went into the bathroom. He closed the door and set his clothes on the sink as there was no other surface and the toilet had no lid. He cranked on the water, adjusted the temp, and shucked his clothes. Then he took the products Maria had brought for him and got into the shower.
Beneath the spray, his emotions spilled over. He braced his hands on the wall and let them go. He couldn’t name all the feelings that flowed with his tears. Grief for his mother, fear forhis sister, worry about his father, and agony over his feelings for Maria. It was only when the well ran dry that he realized, he hadn’t shed a single tear for his stolen invention.
When he left the bathroom, cleansed inside and out, Harrison found Lily lying just the way she’d been, and Maria in the chair beside her bed. He went to the bedside and took Lily’s hand in his, and said, “I really wish you’d wake up, sis.”
“I’m ’wake,” Lily muttered, and he and Maria both jumped. “Jus’ resting my eyes.” Lily’s voice was hoarse, her eyes still closed. She squeezed them tighter, frowning. “Why am I in bed?”
“You’re okay,” he said. He was aware of Maria catching her breath as Lily opened her eyes to a narrow squint, as if the light hurt them. “I’m here with you and you’re okay.”
Maria hurried to close the blinds. The light was already off. Then she came to his side, filled a water glass from a pitcher on the nightstand and handed it to him. She found the call button and pressed it.
Harrison held the straw to his sister’s lips and she drank, and when he pulled it away, she said, “I remember now. Someone rammed the truck, we ran through the woods, and then… some guy on a four-wheeler grabbed me.”
“Do you remember anything else?” Harrison asked.
“He jabbed me with a needle, like immediately,” she said. “I remember being afraid I’d fall off if I passed out, but I passed out anyway.” Then her eyes went wider. “What about Dad?”
“He’s fine. Safe and sound at the ranch.”
A nurse came in and said, “Well, it’s good to see you awake, Lily.” Then she made shooing motions at them.
Harrison took Maria’s hand, meeting her eyes as they went through the door into the hall, probably beaming. “She’s okay,” he said.
“She’s okay.”
“Thanks to you.”
