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“Shit. I lost four hours.”
“Are you really that upset about it?”
“No. Not at all.” I chuckle. “How do you feel?”
“Settled. I’m still sad inside, but I know everything will be okay. You were so exhausted, Eli.”
“Yeah, I think I have a few gray hairs coming in.”
“Mmmm… that’s hot.”
“Good to know. I’ll let it go if it ever gets that far.”
“I’ll just start calling you the silver fox. You might just have to change your call sign. Silver Goose just doesn’t have a ring to it.” My wife’s laughter can cure anything it wants. “I was texting with Hayley while you slept. She was asking if she could come over. She… I don’t know.”
“What?”
“It’s nothing. Probably work gossip. I shouldn’t say anything.”
“Okay, now you have to say something.”
“Last week I was in the breakroom getting an extra coffee and some of the girls were eating lunch together from Hayley’s department. I popped over to say hello and we talked for a bit. They asked me about her. She’s been spending most of her lunch hours alone, even when they ask her to come with. That doesn’t sound like her.”
“No. That doesn’t sound like her. I know that my parents are checking in on her too. Wes is gone again. He left for Atlanta the day before yesterday. Hayley was supposed to travel with him and work remotely. We got her all the permissions necessary then her partner on her first big project had a family emergency. She has to stay behind and give the presentation on her own. I think Hayles wanted to spend all the time she could with Wes, between Hannah and his work. Maybe that’s where she was?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t like it. I told her to come over and stay with us. I laid the guilt on pretty thick because she kept saying no.”
“Wait. Knowing you’re hurt she said no? That is definitely not my sister. She’s coming, right?”
“Yeah. She should be here in an hour. You should probably shower and put clothes on.”
“You should probably get in with me.”
“Get me there, Goose, and you have a deal.”
Hayley
I spend the whole ride over to Eli and Dylan’s giving myself a pep talk. You can do this. Dylan needs you. Eli might need your help. This is what sisters do. I’m trying so hard to feel like I can be positive and show someone else the silver lining. I just don’t know if I can.
Even on the elevator ride up, I consider making an excuse not to go. By the time I knock on the door, my best smile is half plastered on. “Hey, sorry I took so long. I wanted to bring a treat. The bakery across town by the office has the best cream cheese coffee cake.”
“You didn’t have to do that. Just you being here is enough. Dylan’s all set up on the couch. There’s enough room for you. I’m just about to plate dinner. Want some?”
“No thanks. I ate before I came.” Lies. I’m a lying liar. I’m so tired of being forced to do this and forced to do that. I just, for once, would like to have my life be about my choices, not with what I end up with because of someone else’s decisions. “I’ll have some of this coffee cake later.”
Dylan’s bubbly smile greets me as soon as I round the corner out of the foyer and into the living room. “Did I hear you say the words cream cheese and coffee cake in the same sentence?”
I stop dead in my tracks when I see her. Her leg looks like it has about fifty pounds of bubble wrap on it and is cushioned on about a thousand pillows. “No. Oh. No. Look at you. I mean, Eli told me what happened, and I thought I understood. This is really bad.” I start winding the cuffs of Wes’s Tacoma Thunder jersey into my hands, and at some point, tears start falling from my eyes.
“Hey. Stop. Don’t cry. Oh my gosh. It’s not that bad. I mean, it is, but I’m getting better. Come here.”
I drop everything I have in my hands into a pile to kneel at her side. Dylan pulls me in for a hug. I bury my face in her neck and hold on. She ends up holding on as tight as I do, until I feel a hand on my head. I’d know that touch anywhere. My brother is standing right behind me.
I let go of Dylan and fold in against his chest. I guess I didn’t realize how much I needed him, needed them. The way he’s holding me reminds me instantly of being little. He’s held me the same no matter if I was four, fourteen, or twenty-four. It’s a constant. I need it so much.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks.
“I’m fine,” I tell him. “I think I’m just overtired. I haven’t been sleeping well. I’ve gotten used to not sleeping alone.”
