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TWENTY

“Wendy,” I breathe. “Oh my God.”

“I told you,” she says, “I’m fine. It isn’t as bad as it looks.”

I have seen a lot of bad things in my lifetime, but Wendy Garrick’s face is one of those things that will haunt me for years to come. That woman had been pummeled, and from the looks of her, it didn’t happen all at once. The bruises covering her face are in various stages of healing. One on her left cheekbone looks fresh, but others have a yellow appearance that makes it look like they were formed from a blow that came much earlier.

Wendy told me that the bleeding came from one of her teeth, and I absolutely believe that whatever did this to her face was capable of knocking out one of her teeth.

“It’s from my medications,” she tells me. “I had a fall, and I take blood thinners. It makes me bruise easily.”

Has this woman looked in a mirror? Is she really trying to tell me that this happened from a fall ?

She’s wearing a pink nightgown with flowers on it and, much like the bathroom, there is blood staining the front of it. And it’s not even the first bloody nightgown I’ve seen since I’ve been here.

“You need to go to a hospital,” I manage.

“A hospital?” She flinches. “And what would they do, exactly?”

“Check if you have any broken bones.”

“I don’t. I’m fine.”

“And then you can report this,” I add.

Wendy Garrick stares at me through eyes rimmed with bruises. She takes a breath and winces. I wonder if she has a broken rib. It wouldn’t surprise me.

“Listen to me, Millie ,” she says in a low voice. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with here. You do not want to get involved with this situation. You need to walk away and leave me be.”

“Wendy…”

“I mean it.” Her bruised eyes grow wider, and for the first time, I see real fear there. “If you know what’s good for you, you need to close this door and get out of here.”

“But—”

“You need to walk away , Millie.” And now there is a terrible urgency in her voice. “You have no idea. Just walk away .”

I open my mouth to protest, but before I can, she has slammed the door in my face.

The message is crystal clear. Whatever is going on in this house, Wendy does not want my help. She wants me to stay out of it. Mind my own business.

Unfortunately, I’ve never been very good at that.