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Have you eaten?”
“Yeah, they fed us on the plane. Surprisingly not terrible.”
Cassie drooped a little bit. She’d hoped to take her sister out tonight. The sooner they got back to her house, the sooner it’d be one-on-one sister time, and she wasn’t ready for that just yet. What would they talk about? What if they got into a fight? What if they got along perfectly and she ended up regretting not reaching out sooner?
Maybe her therapist was right about the true meaning of her dream.
Cassie spent the entire walk to long term parking thinking about what she should say to her own sister. By the time they’d reached her car, she hadn’t said a single word. Instead, she popped the trunk and helped Laura lift her bag into the back.
“Did you pack a bunch of bricks?”
Laura’s laugh was a welcome sound. “Fifty pounds. I was so scared it was going to go over. But I needed to make sure I had enough clothes, just in case.”
“Just in case what?”
Laura froze. “In case I needed to stay longer than a week.”
Cassie slammed the trunk and looked at her sister across the top of her car. A light was out nearby, shrouding them in darkness. But she could still make out the sheepish look on her sister’s face.
“Why would you need to stay longer?”
“In case Mom or Dad need me.” Laura waited until Cassie unlocked the car doors to open the passenger door, but stopped short of getting in. “Or in case you need me?”
Cassie slid behind the wheel and waited for Laura to shut the door before giving her sister an incredulous look. “Why would I need you?”
“You know, just in case. I don’t know, Cass, I’m just trying to be helpful.”
“I’ve been doing perfectly fine for years, Laura.” Cassie tried to keep the anger out of her voice, but she wasn’t as successful as she had hoped she’d be. “And you don’t know, maybe Mom and Dad will want my help. I live closer.”
“It’s not a competition, Cassie.” Laura rolled her eyes and snapped her seatbelt into place. “I’m just trying to be helpful.”
Cassie took a moment before she responded. She knew she was being defensive. Unreasonable. “I know. I know I have a long way to go to make everything up to them—”
“You’re their daughter.” Laura put a hand on Cassie's shoulder. “You don’t have to make anything up to them. Besides, they’ll kick us out before either of us can volunteer to help. God knows Mom doesn’t want anyone to baby her, even with a brain tumor.”
Laura’s words didn’t make Cassie feel better. She still hadn’t talked to either of her parents. Cassie had pitched their visit as a surprise, but really, she hadn’t wanted to give her parents a head’s up just in case they had decided they didn’t want to see her. Or just in case she decided at the last minute that she didn’t want to go.
Realistic? Maybe.
Cowardly? Yes.
Cassie stuck the key in the ignition and twisted. Her car roared to life and the headlights illuminated the darkness around them. The gasp that left her mouth was automatic, and she didn’t have time to try to cover her reaction before Laura jumped and tried to follow her gaze.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Cassie said. She searched for a plausible lie. “I thought I saw a cat run off. Scared me.”
“Jesus, don’t do that.” Laura clutched a hand to her chest. “I thought we were being kidnapped.”
Laura realized what she said as soon as it left her mouth.
“Cassie, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I—”
“It’s fine.” Cassie forced a laugh. “You don’t have to walk on eggshells around me. Let’s just get home, okay?”
Laura nodded and turned her head to face the windshield again. Cassie followed suit, and once again locked eyes with the ghost of the little boy. He showed up more outside of her bedroom as her sister’s visit had gotten closer.
Was it a plausible connection, or a coincidence?
