Page 28 of The Bitter Words

“Maybe. I’m just glad they got to her in time.”

The door to the garage opens. Mr. and Mrs. Hemings walk through the mudroom and into the kitchen.

Mrs. Hemings has splotchy red marks all over her face and Mr. Hemings has dark circles around his eyes. I don’t think they’ve slept for even an hour. She ambles over and gives us both hugs, welcoming us home.

“I’ll let Greg fill you boys in. I’m exhausted and need to rest.” Mrs. Hemings places her purse down on a built-in desk on the other side of the kitchen. She faces me and shows me a sad smile. “Thanks for making us check on her, Cash. She wouldn’t…”

Mrs. Hemings sucks in a cry. Mr. Hemings strides over to her and hugs her. He whispers something in her ear. She nods and retreats up the back staircase. He peers her way for a moment, then turns to us.

“It’s nice to have you guys home. I’m sorry this is what you had to come back to.” He gestures to the table. “Join me over there. I have some questions we need answered.”

“How’s Lily?” My nerves can’t stand it any longer. I want the details.

“She’s getting the necessary help.” He shuffles to the table. “We’ll know more once she’s able to speak.”

Bren releases a heavy gust of air. “Why can’t she talk?”

“She can. She’s just not making any sense.” Mr. Hemings sits and stares at us. “I need to know what happened.”

“That’s what we wanna know.” I find a seat next to him.

He runs his hand over his mouth. “How long have you boys known she’s been using?”

Bren sinks into the chair across from me and paints a look of innocence on his face. “Dad, we weren’t even in town. How were we supposed to know what she was doing?”

“You’ve never seen her use?” His gaze bears down on Bren. “Now is not the time to protect her. She’s hanging on by a thread and if you think hiding shit from me is good for her, you’re sadly a bigger part of the problem than I think.”

Bren glances at me. I subtly shake my head and remain silent.

I won’t lie to Mr. Hemings, but I’m not about to spill everything I know when I don’t have a clue what he intends to do with the information. He needs to tell me more about her state of mind before I’ll ever expose her secrets.

“Brendan, answer me!” Mr. Hemings slams his hand down on the table.

Bren jerks back. “She doesn’t do nearly as many drugs as other people I know. Shit, Dad. She’s practically a saint compared to most.”

“That wasn’t the question, Brendan.” His dad growls in growing frustration. “How long have you known and what does she take?”

Bren’s shoulders roll forward. “She likes to smoke weed sometimes. Well, that and drink. I think that’s all, and she’s only been doing it for maybe a year. Probably less.”

Mr. Hemings studies Bren. “So you know nothing about the cocaine or opioids?”

“You mean the painkillers? Ah…” Bren pauses, then races through his words. “She got those when she took that fall in the mountains and had terrible stomach pains. Remember, Mrs. Mayze took her to the doctor and they prescribed them to her then. I have no input about the coke.”

“Right.” Mr. Hemings takes a few deep breaths. “If that’s all you have for me, I’m going to ask you to go to your room. I have some things to discuss with Cash.”

“Yeah, sure.” Bren gets up and practically runs out of the room. He doesn’t even look back at me as he disappears up the stairs.

Fucking hell. I’m in this battle alone. I scrape my teeth over my lip and steel myself.

Mr. Hemings turns his tired gaze to me. “Let’s talk about the painkillers.”

“What about ’em?”

“She didn’t take a tumble in the mountains, did she?”

My heart thumps harder. “No, sir.”

“Thank you for being honest.” He relaxes a little. “Livianna keeps mumbling something about losing a boy. She keeps telling us you think it’s her fault. What do you know about that?”