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Rachel nodded. “You’re okay.”
But she wasn’t. Her home, the one place she could relax and set up rules that kept her safe—her refuge—had turned out to be like everywhere else. A danger zone.
“I’m not sick.” What Elisa really meant wasI’m not crazy. People threw the word around when they meant silly or ridiculous, but it applied here. She truly worried she was having a breakdown. Nothing sounded right or felt right. The constant urge to throw up battled with the need to curl into a ball and sleep in the darkness.
“You’re under stress, that’s all.” Rachel took the cell phone out of Elisa’s hand. “We should get you somewhere—”
“No!” Not a hospital or facility. Elisa didn’t want to leave her house. Right now, she didn’t want to leave the floor.
“Tea.” Rachel shifted position until her hand rested under Elisa’s arm. “Something warm to drink. Then, maybe, some sweatpants and a blanket.”
That sounded so good, but... “Nathan?”
“Josh told me he stays after school on Mondays for some sort of tumbling and running class, yes?”
Elisa could only nod.
“Good. You’ve got hours, then. It’s not even one.” Rachel stood up and lifted Elisa up with her. “We’ll sit and relax for a bit.”
Elisa tried to push away and stand on her own, but her body rebelled. Her muscles relaxed and she fell into Rachel, who somehow managed to handle both of their weight. Up off the floor, Elisa glanced down and saw a piece of paper under the corner of her forgotten purse.
“Wait.” But she didn’t have the strength to bend over and fetch it.
Rachel grabbed it. A business card. She read from it. “‘Ashburn and Tanaka. Private Investigators.’”
“Right. Them.” The people calling and knocking. Elisa took the card and shoved it in her pocket. Not that she neededa reminder. She knew exactly who they were and what they wanted.
“Did you hire them?” Rachel asked.
“No.”
Rachel didn’t ask another question. She steered Elisa toward the couch. Took her coat the rest of the way off and eased her down onto the cushions. Elisa didn’t say a word during the process. It had been so long since anyone had taken care of her.
Her mother had died years before Nathan was born, from ovarian cancer that ran wild through her body while she waited to qualify for health insurance at work. Now, a woman Elisa barely knew guided her back from the brink.
Elisa snuggled into the pillows stacked behind her and watched Rachel rummage around the kitchen, opening doors in search of tea. She found it and kept on working. For the first time, Elisa realized Rachel was wearing workout clothes, as if she’d stopped in after a run or on the way back from the gym.
“I really am okay, you know.” Elisa didn’t believe the words as she said them, but she was relieved her voice sounded stronger. Surer.
“You’ve had a shitty few days.” Rachel returned to the couch with two mugs of steaming tea.
She sat down with her legs tucked up under her and faced Elisa. She put one of the mugs on the coffee table in front of Elisa. “I didn’t mean to scare you when I came in.”
Elisa’s mind started to focus again and one question popped into her head, begging for an answer. “Howdidyou get in?”
“Josh’s keys. Back door.” Rachel took a sip of her tea. “I grabbed them without really thinking. He couldn’t find his sunglasses and I figured it would be better for me to come and look than for him to do it.”
Did that explain? Elisa didn’t think so but in her current state couldn’t be sure. The panic attack had her reeling and confused.
Rachel winced. “I should have called first. He said you’re always here, so I knocked. When you didn’t answer I went around back to look in the yard.”
“Okay. That makes sense.” But the ease with which Rachel had entered the house put Elisa on edge. She knew some people thought the drop-in was fine. Elisa was not one of those people and needed to set visitation boundaries. Making that clear would be more effective once she could stand up without falling down again.
“I heard the doorbell and looked in the window. That’s when I saw you sitting in the foyer.” Rachel blew out a long breath. “I thought you’d passed out or something.”
Elisa glanced at the windows lining the far side of the wall then turned toward the door. Rachel would not have had a clear view, which allowed Elisa to make things up. “I fell.”
Rachel sighed. “I think we both know you didn’t.”
