Page 51 of The Bronze Garza

ChapterFourteen

“Let’s make a deal.”

Lyra

I’m not a bath person, butI just had one. Thirty minutes of soaking in my own filth and self-deprecation.

I twist my hair up into a bun, slip on my nightgown, and climb into bed. The apple and banana sits untouched on the nightstand.

I switch on the television because I’m unable to sleep in silence anymore without waking up screaming and awash in cold sweat. At the recommendation of my therapist, I use the noise from the television as a tether to keep me from falling into deep sleep, which has been successful in preventing night terrors.

I fetch my phone from the nightstand and dial Holly. Not surprisingly, it just rings and rings like it has been for almost two months now. Ever since the accident, she’s been acting strange. Scarce. I’m always the one calling or texting her and she hardly ever answers. It hurts, because she’s my best friend, my only friend. When I was hospitalized, she only came to see me once. Even then she was distant.

Maybe she no longer wants to be around someone who has misfortune yipping at her heels.Or maybe...

No. I shake the thought out of my head. Because if I dare entertain the suppositions that have been niggling at the back of my mind for the past couple of weeks, I’ll lose faith in humanity entirely. And I’m already halfway there.

I call Patrick instead.

“Hey, little sister!”

“Hey you.”

“Wait, what is wrong?” he asks, concern filling his voice. “You sound very off.”

“Nothing’s wrong. Just bored and thought I’d call to see how you’re doing.”

“Oh, I am good, good. I was going to call you actually,” he says. “They are giving me ten days off after doing multiple back-to-back shifts for the past couple of months, so I am going to be home as of tomorrow. You can come back, instead of staying at that stranger’s house. I am kind of annoyed that Mitch did not tell me what he was planning. I would have asked for the time off and stayed with you.”

“I thought you knew.”

“I did not. Mom told me two days after you left.”

Hmm. Which means Eloise didn’t know until then either. Why would Dad hide this from them? I thought he’d at least talked to Patrick about it. What am I missing?

“Well, I’d love that,” I say, not sure if I mean it. “Let me talk to Dad about it.”

“Lyra, youdounderstand that you are a grown woman and can make your own decisions, right?”

“Yeah, I know. But I go along with it all because he’s stressed and worried. Doing things like this makes him feel better, so...”

“Well, being scared and cooped up all the time is not going to get you any closer to normalcy. You have to go out and start living again. You only have one life.”

Yeah, that’s what you all said the last time and then I got run over by a car.

But I don’t point that out to him. I change the subject instead and we chat for a bit before he tells me he has to get back to work.

After hanging up, I switch the channel to family feud and snuggle up under the sheets. Too unsettled to sleep.

Two episodes later, a knock comes at the door.

Well, that’s a first.

“I’m sleeping,” I say aloud.

The knob turns and then the door swings open.

He enters without permission, a food tray in hand. His gaze flicks to the apple and banana on the nightstand, almost as if he knew they’d be there.