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She smiled a sad smile too. “Go on.”
Striker took a deep breath. “He told me that, prior to that, Pam had almost overdosed. That’s when he became her doctor. He said that while she was in the hospital, he ran some tests that led to him diagnosing her with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.”
Striker closed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, knowing he had to force himself to tell Aine the rest.
“As you might guess, Pam later relapsed, and it was finally too much for her body to take.”
“You don’t have to go on,” Aine murmured. “I can tell this is very hard for you to talk about.”
“I haven’t told you the most important part. He asked me if I’d ever been tested. I told him that I hadn’t, and he suggested I might want to.”
Aine tightened her grip on his hands.
“He went on to say that in the year he treated Pam, he found out quite a bit about our family, and while he couldn’t be certain, his guess was that our mother suffered from the same illnesses.”
“Did you do as he suggested?”
“I didn’t.”
“Why not?”
When Merrigan asked him the same question, he hadn’t told her the truth, even though he was sure she’d guessed it. “I’m afraid,” he whispered.
Aine moved over. “Lie next to me.”
When he lowered his body next to hers, this time, Aine comforted him.
He raised his head when he heard the door open.
“Sorry, I’ll come back later,” he heard Ava say, and he felt Aine nod.
“It’s okay if you need to talk to her.”
“I need to talk to you, Griffin.”
He sighed, studying the brave woman lying next to him. “Go ahead, Aine. Say what you need to say. Or ask what you want to ask.”
“Is this why you ended our relationship?”
“Yes.”
“Because you didn’t think I’d understand.”
He looked into her eyes. “I’m not sure you do now. It’s believed that there is a genetic predisposition for the disorder my sister suffered from, and maybe my mother too.”
“Which is why he suggested you get tested.”
“Yes, but not for the disorder, for the genetic variations that contribute to it.”
“Did he say what the chances were that you have those variations?”
“Only that the risk of developing the condition is greater for first-degree relatives of affected individuals. That would mean both my sister and mother.”
Aine was quiet for a long time, but Striker waited. He wanted to give her time to think, not bombard her with medical statistics.
She blinked, and a tear ran down her cheek. “I do understand, Griffin. You weren’t worried about yourself.”
“Not as much as I was worried about you.”
