Page 45 of What Comes Around

Her face twisted.

I reached across the table and touched her hand, like a worried sister. “He said I was a thousand times better in bed than you ever were,” I added softly, for her ears only.

Something in her snapped and she yanked her hand away.

“I’LL KILL YOU!” She lunged toward me, but someone caught her arm.

“Let go of me!”

“Miss, you need to calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” she screamed. “She is fucking my man!”

“Apple, please,” I said shakily. “You’re scaring me.”

“She’s pretending!” Apple shrieked.

Two customers tried to hold her back.

“Ma’am, sit down.”

“I SAID DON’T TOUCH ME!”

I stepped back, eyes wide, hands shaking.

“Apple,” I said. “You’re not thinking clearly.”

A man moved beside me. “Miss, stay back. It’s not safe.”

I looked up at him, tears spilling over.

“That’s my sister. I just want to help her. She’s been like this for weeks. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“LIAR!”

Sirens wailed outside.

When the officers entered, Apple turned on them immediately. “She’s lying! She’s trying to make me look unstable!”

I moved toward them first. “That’s my sister,” I said softly. “She’s been spiraling for weeks. Depression. Paranoia. Threats. I was afraid to leave her alone.”

Apple twisted against the man restraining her, still fighting his grip when the officers moved in.

“She’s lying!”

“She needs help,” I said, raising my voice over the noise.

“That bitch set me up!” Apple screamed.

“My sister needs to be evaluated,” I continued over her shouting, tears running freely now. “For her own safety.”

Apple was still screaming my name as they took her outside. Her voice echoed down the street until the cruiser door shut and the sound cut off.

The café fell silent.

I stood there shaking, arms wrapped around myself. One of the officers returned.

“You’re her sister?” he asked.