Chapter 13 - Emily learns what Lily believes
I was present when Emily learned.
Not at the wedding.
Three months earlier.
Her speech had improved.
She could walk with a cane for short distances.
Fatigue still hit hard.
Her left hand trembled.
Caroline asked:
“What do you understand about Lily?”
Emily answered:
“She lives with Ryan.”
“Do you know why she has not visited?”
“Ryan says hard.”
Then Caroline hesitated.
“I need to tell you something that may be upsetting.”
Emily looked at me.
“What?”
“Lily may believe you died.”
Silence.
Emily laughed once.
A confused sound.
“No.”
I cried before she did.
“No.”
Then Emily looked at me.
“James?”
“I didn’t know until recently.”
“Dead?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I had no answer that did not belong to Ryan.
Emily started shaking.
The session ended early.
That night she called me from the facility.
Her speech became worse when tired.
“Get my girl.”
I said:
“We have to do this correctly.”
“Get. My. Girl.”
That was when I stopped thinking of Ryan as a frightened husband making bad decisions.
May you like
He had crossed into something deliberate.
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