Page 48 of Isolation

He shrugs. “I have always been handy around the house.”

I knew that. He re-did Mia’s room all by himself.

“It looks beautiful. Thank you.”

Milo stares at the uneaten tray of food instead of responding.

Recently, Milo has become the only person I speak to on a daily basis. What started off as an understanding over Tessa and our current situation, has morphed into genuine camaraderie.

We have been helping each other with Tessa related issues, along with keeping up with household duties and chores.

Now we eat every meal together despite Milo’s grueling schedule.I have been around him enough to pick up on his new mood shifts, regardless of his poker face. Right now, something is definitely off.

“Are you okay?” I ask. “What’s going on?”

“Tessa,” he responds quietly. “Mia found her with a bottle of pills earlier today.”

“Sleeping pills?” I audibly gasp.

Milo nods and my eyes widen in horror.

Tessa tried this once before. She was exhausted by her recovery process and lost her will power.

I didn’t realize things had escalated to this degree in only a couples of weeks.

“Did she—”

“When Mia walked in, Tessa had the bottle in her hand. She was just staring at it,” Milo runs both hands through his hair. “Fuck! Mia shouldn’t have to see that.”

“Does she have to be admitted again?” I force myself to ask the question neither of us wants to answer.

Milo shakes his head. “She doesn’t want to go back, and I don’t want to force her.”

I nod. Tessa was institutionalized after her last attempt. The place was awful, and it smelled like death.

She was miserable and horrified. It might be recommended by doctors, but I am against sending her back there as well. Then again, I am biased towards this specific topic.

“What happens now?” I ask in a small voice.

“I truly don’t know.”

Miloneversounds unsure. Healwayshas a plan; he always knows what happens next. I believed everything would be okay because he believed it. We have all been following his confident cues, expecting him to have the answers.

The expectation for me to lessen the burden of others.

That’s his truth. As far as this household is concerned, the weight of the world has always been on one person’s shoulders. My heart squeezes in my chest at that very reminder.

I step forward and wrap my arms around his neck. Milo stiffens in shock for a moment but immediately pulls me closer. He holds me so close that I can hear his rapid heartbeat.

“I am sorry,” I rasp out. “I am so sorry.”

He doesn’t respond. We stay locked in for a few minutes. When I feel Milo moving his head, I release my hands around his neck.

Instead of stepping back, Milo presses a kiss on my neck and inhales deeply. His chest rises and falls heavily, his sporadic breathing fanning my skin.

I tense.

He said he wouldn’t do this to me anymore. That he’d respect my choices.