Page 119 of Play Nice

“Clio,” Leda says, teeth clenched.

I wonder if Maya can prescribe sedatives.

“No, laughter is good,” Maya says, and I think Leda might jump out the window. “Laughter can be the best medicine. I’d like to turn it over to you. One at a time. Tell me why you’re here. James?”

Dad clears his throat. Twice. “My daughters’ mother passed away in April. She wasn’t in our lives, but it’s been…difficult. For my youngest, Clio.”

“Yeah, just me,” I say.

Maya cocks her head to the side. “Why are you here?”

“That’s a great question,” I say. “Come back to me.”

“I think you should answer,” she says, scrubbing any goodwill I had for her.

Why am I here?

Mom. The house. Demon of Edgewood Drive. Roy.

My apartment building catching on fire.

Daphne. Leda. Dad. Amy.

Austin.

Fiction. Truth. Belief. Doubt.

There are things I could say that wouldn’t cause chaos. But I don’t want to say any of those things. I want to say the thing I shouldn’t say. Because it’s the only way I can be in control.

“I’m here because my own father wants to have me committed for grieving my mother.”

Dad folds over, puts his head in his hands. Leda sighs. Daphne closes her eyes.

Maya, to her credit, doesn’t flinch. “What makes you say that?”

“Because I found Google searches on his computer for psychiatric holds in New Jersey.”

“She’s talking about demons,” Dad says. “This is exactly what happened with Alex. She saw things that weren’t there. Her behavior got aggressive. And there was substance abuse.”

Now seems as good a time as any to turn on my tears. “I’m just trying to understand her. What she went through. What she believed. The house holds so many memories…”

“Oh, give me a fucking break,” Daphne says.

“She’s faking,” Leda says to Maya. “She’s manipulating you.”

“I show any emotion, and this is what they do. I’m not allowed to feel anything.” I sniffle, reaching for a tissue. “They used to pin all their animosity on Mom, but she’s not here anymore.”

“Dude, that is so far from the truth,” Daphne says.

“Okay,” Maya says. “There’s a lot of intensity here. Everything is very raw.”

“Clio makes everything about her, just like Alexandra did,” Leda says. “There’s a reason why we cut her out of our lives. Beyond just the custody arrangement. We chose not to have any contact. We’re just lucky that decision was mutual, the cut clean.”

Leda mimes snipping scissors.

“Ah,” Maya says. “I wonder if that shared history of severing a significant relationship has had residual effects and if Alexandra’s passing exacerbated some sensitivity around that. Leda, what do you think?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” she says. “Daphne and I have already worked through our issues with Alexandra. We suffered more because we were older and could understand—”