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My brothers and I exchanged concerned glances.
I reached for her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
She sucked in a long breath. “I must be going crazy. Please, everyone go. I need to think about this.”
The last thing I wanted to do was leave, but Ella insisted.
Finally, Damon patted my shoulder. “Bro, let’s go.”
Chapter Sixteen
Ella
The next day, I woke up feeling rattled and anxious. I thought about calling in sick, but what would I do with a day off? I would be thinking about the break-in anyway.
Who in the world would leave framed pictures of my family at the lake?
On the way to work, for the first time in years, I called my mother.
She answered on the second ring, “Are you okay?”
It was a valid question; we never talked. Neither of us was keen to bring up the awkward conversation on Greg’s death anniversary.
“Did you come to Grandma’s house and leave something in the house? I mean, in my house?” It felt so weird to say that, especially to my mom, who had grown up in the lake house.
“What? Did someone leave something there?”
I didn’t need my mother to be involved in my business. Especially after she’d told me I was too sensitive to my ex’s abusive ways. “Never mind. I’m going to let you go.” I hung up.
At the hospital, I did some breathing exercises to calm myself down. That picture hadn’t been there until last night. Was Ibeing paranoid, reacting this way to a picture of my family in my family home?
I focused on the hospital. I could do this. There wasn’t usually a lot of action in Refuge Falls, but you never knew what would happen.
Things were quiet when I checked in. Mercy had the day off. I wasn’t surprised to see Damon and his younger son walk in.
“Hi,” Damon said. “Trent has an appointment with Dr. Chavez.”
I filled out the iPad form and then led them to the exam room. I tried to talk to Trent and ask him how he was doing, but the boy was on his father’s phone.
Damon sighed. “I don’t want to be the dad that lets them spend so much time on electronics.” He reached over and took the phone from Trent. “She’s going to ask you some questions. Pay attention.”
Trent looked up at me, and I rattled off questions about what he was feeling and if the cast was too tight. He didn’t seem to be having any trouble.
It wasn’t long until Dr. Chavez came in and took him through some tests. “Looks like everything’s doing well. We will see you back in two weeks, but it’ll be another five until you get this off.” He looked at Trent. “Be careful, okay?”
Trent frowned. “I can’t even run outside.”
Damon stood and shook Dr. Chavez’s hand, expressing his thanks.
We all started walking out when Damon asked me, “Can I talk to you before we leave?”
I gave him a skeptical look. Why would he need to talk to me? The break-in had just happened last night, and they had taken down all the information.
At the nurses’ station, Damon handed his phone back to Trent. “You stay there on the seat for a minute. Dad needs to talk.”
Trent nodded and sat, leaving the two of us alone.
Damon leaned toward me over the counter. “I know you said you didn’t want security or cameras at the house, but I think you should reconsider. I’m saying this as a friend. If you don’t want Noah to put them up, I could do it for you.”
