Page 45 of Liberating Lily

“My head is thumping, and I feel exhausted, even though I’ve done nothing. My stomach keeps rolling, and I don’t know why. I need my medicine. I’m not very well. Did it come up on the blood test you took?”

“Did what come up?” Michaela asked.

“What’s wrong with me,” she explained. “Did the blood test tell you, or do I need other tests?”

“What did they tell you was wrong with you, Lily?” Michaela asked.

“The doctor said there was something wrong with my nervous system.”

Yeah, that was right. Her nervous system.

“I wasn’t able to regulate it myself and the pills were meant to help.”

“What happened if you didn’t take the pills, Lily?” Michaela asked.

“If I don’t take my medication, I get out of control. I can’t stop myself from lashing out and hurting others.”

Michaela’s expression didn’t change, but she sensed that the other woman didn’t really agree with what she’d said.

“Right. And did you ever hurt somebody?” Michaela asked.

“Yes. Yes, I did.”

“Who?” Harvey asked as he stood at the end of the bed, his arms crossed over his chest. There was no smile on his face as he stared down at her. Had she upset him? Should she keep answering their questions if he wasn’t very happy?

Michaela turned to look at Harvey. “You might want to take it down a notch. You’re scaring her.”

Scaring her? Was he scaring her? Maybe a little bit.

She was surprised that Michaela would say something to him though. She wasn’t used to anyone sticking up for her. Rick would never have done that.

He’d never really cared about anyone but himself, had he? God, why had she agreed to marry him?

It was what Mother wanted.

Right. That was right. But why did she have to do what her mother wanted?

“I think it was my mother. I think I hurt my mother.”

“Okay, that sounds a bit odd to me,” Michaela told her. “I don’t know what you did to your mom to hurt her, but I think your doctor might have used it as an excuse to give you medicine that you didn’t need. Did he tell you what the medicine was?”

“And are you sure you hurt your mother?” Harvey asked.

“Yes, I did,” she said slowly as the memory returned. “She had scratches and bruises.”

And Lily had felt ashamed ever since.

“And do you remember giving her those scratches and bruises?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said with more certainty than she felt. She couldn’t piece together the entire thing.

The two of them shared a look, and she wished she knew what they were thinking.

“Did they explain the medication, Lily?” Michaela asked again.

She rubbed at her forehead. “Yeah, they did. They said it was something to calm down my nervous system, and it worked. I didn’t feel those rages anymore.”

“Did you feel much of anything?” Michaela asked.