He pulls a blanket over her to quell her shaking and then pokes the fire to get it going again.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“I’m sorry I hung up on you.”
“It’s okay. It’s okay.” I hug her and nearly cry at how thin she is. “How did you get here?”
“Flew to Boston. Rented a car and drove to Watermark.” She looks to Sam. “You must be Sam. Met your mom. She’s real nice.”
Sam is as confused as I am, but he gives her a smile. “She is nice. She told you where to find Stella?” he prompts.
Amy nods. “Yeah. Sorry I hung up on you. Did I already say that?”
I pat her arm. “That’s all right.”
“Death trippers, you said. That’s what we are?” She’s incredibly out of it.
“Yes.”
“Did Dad do this to you also?” she asks.
I wipe a smudge of God-knows-what from her face. “No. It’s a long story, but I’ll explain later. You need to eat and sleep. Sam, do you mind pulling the food out of the oven? It should be done now.”
“Of course. I’ll make up a plate.” He squeezes my shoulder as he walks past.
“Are you able to eat, or are you sick to your stomach?” I ask.
Amy looks grotesque, and I want nothing more than to nurture her and put her back together. I want to restore this fragile woman to the ferociously loving and protective older sister that she used to be.
“I’m okay now. Threw up on the plane a bunch, so that was cool.” She smiles just enough that I feel slightly better. “Do you…get like this, too? Sick?”
“I’ve only tripped twice, but yeah. I’m guessing that you’ve been going a lot.”
“Yeah. But it’s been five days since…wait, maybe four…since Ideath-tripped.” She laughs lightly. “Funny to have words for it now.”
“I’m so glad you’re here. We’re going to take care of you.” I pull her against me.
I’m beyond relieved that she’s here but equally worried. For now, I’m going to concentrate on getting her healthy and on the fact that my sister—or whatever is left of her—has come back to me.
“Where’s…where’s Costa?” It seems to be taking all her energy to talk.
“He’s not here. Not sure when he’ll be back. Like I said, there’s a lot to tell you.”
We get her to eat two plates of food, and then Sam carries her upstairs so that I can help her in the shower. She’s still too weak to do much for herself, and I’m amazed that she got herself here in one piece. I can only imagine what Felicia thought when my mess of a sister showed up at the inn. I’mreallygoing to have to call Felicia now.
Sam asks for Amy’s car keys because it turns out that she parked on top of what used to be a large shrub.
I tuck her into bed in one of the plush guest rooms, and seeing her cleaned up and in flannel pajamas under a puffy comforter makes me feel as though I’ve accomplished something tangible. Amy falls asleep immediately, but I can’t bring myself to leave her. I get under the covers and wrap my arms around her.
Later, in her sleep, she hugs me back.
The light of day, however, brings a standoffish Amy. She clomps down the stairs and brushes past me when I go to her. “Do you have any cereal?” Her appearance is slightly less frightful, but her foul mood clouds the room.
“Actually, Sam made pancakes.”
She sighs. “Fine.”
“With fresh Maine blueberries. You’ll like them.” I try to sound cheery, but I give Sam a confused expression.
