Chapter 13 - THE SUITCASE
Lily was waiting beside the apartment door when we arrived.
Her bag held pajamas, a toothbrush, and the photograph of Emily she had slept with for eight months.
“You don't have to explain,” she told her mother.
Emily braked the wheelchair.
“Explain what, baby?”
“That you're too tired.”
The counselor stayed nearby but let Emily answer.
“I am tired.”
Lily nodded quickly, trying to be helpful.
“I can go. I won't make it hard.”
Emily's face changed.
“Where do you think you're going?”
“Daddy said if you woke up, you wouldn't want all the work anymore.”
I went into the kitchen because I couldn't trust my face.
From there, I heard my sister say, “Come sit beside me.”
“I didn't know you were alive. I would have come.”
“Oh, Lily. I know.”
“Even if I had to walk.”
Emily made a broken little sound. Then she steadied herself.
“Listen to me. You were never supposed to find me. The grown-ups were supposed to tell the truth.”
“But you're tired.”
“Being tired doesn't make me stop being your mom.”
“What if I spill something?”
“We clean it up.”
“What if I yell?”
“We talk after we're calm.”
There was a long silence.
“What if I miss Daddy?”
I closed my eyes.
Emily answered without hesitation.
“Then you tell me. Loving someone doesn't mean what they did was okay.”
When I came back, Lily was sitting on the couch beside her. The suitcase was open on the floor.
Together, they unpacked it.
We stayed in the accessible apartment I'd rented near Emily's therapy center. I arranged to work remotely. Nobody pretended it was easy. Some mornings Emily cried because a button wouldn't close. Some nights Lily checked the hallway three times before sleeping.
My case from the wedding ended with a misdemeanor plea, a fine, and required classes. I went. Protecting Lily meant learning to control myself, too.
Mom gave a full statement and the original documents to investigators. Emily didn't invite her over. For once, Mom respected an answer she didn't like.
Weeks passed. Lily stopped asking permission to open the refrigerator.
Then Ortiz came to the apartment with news.
Ryan and Price had been charged in the wider investigation. Vanessa would face charges of her own despite her cooperation.
May you like
Ryan's lawyer had offered another explanation.
This time, he claimed the whole plan had been Emily's idea.
