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She turned to me, eyes dilated. Her dark brown hair was plastered to her face from all the sweat. Nothing about her was put together anymore. She was manic, too unfocused as her gaze bounced around. I wasn’t even sure if she saw the bathroom or if she was in a memory. Ignoring me, she moved forward, stepping on the glass.
“Lindie, stop!”
She froze and looked down at the glass. I grimaced for her.
In a softer voice, I said, “Let me look at your feet.”
Lindie remained silent. I approached slowly, aware that at any moment, she could lash out. My heart was a steady fast pounding against my chest as I clamped down on my fear.
She was sick. She needed help. I kept telling myself that over and over like a mantra. Yet, the closer I got to her, the more I shook out of fear, my body remembering the feel of her attack over the summer.
When I was within reaching distance, she still didn’t move or say anything. Her eyes were dull and I knew she was deep inside herself. She wouldn’t be in there long, so I moved quickly, getting her into the sitting area and onto the small couch.
After calling in a nurse’s aide for help, I poked around the suite until I found a med kit in the bedroom, under her bed. When I went back to her, her eyes were focused again. Still, she didn’t say anything. Cautiously, I approached and kneeled before her so I could get a look at her feet. Blood was soaking into the carpet, so there had to be some bad cuts on them.
“Why are you still here? Why won’t you leave like he did?” She seethed and grabbed my arm, yanking me hard until I fell against her. She then yanked my hair up hard until my eyes prickled with tears, forcing me to look up at her. “Leave! I don’t ever want to see your face again. I don’t ever want to look at you and seehim!”
She shoved me away until I slammed back into the coffee table. I bit back a cry as the edge of the table dug into my ribs, aggravating my spine.
“Shit!” A man came into the room and helped me to my feet before turning to Lindie. A nurse came running in, quickly taking in the scene. Between the two of them, they wrestled her down and gave her a sedative while she wailed and fought back. I pressed my back against the wall by the door, watching the scene, unable to stop the tears falling as I watched them handle my mother.
She looked crazed again as she glared at me, screaming at them to let her go. By the time the sedative took effect, I could still hear her screams echoing in my head over and over again.
“Are you okay?” the man asked.
I nodded and rubbed at my neck. “Yeah.”
He didn’t believe me, his instincts telling him I was bullshitting. It was true too. Hitting that coffee table had caused my back to flare up with pain. It hurt to even turn at that point. The wall was helping me to remain upright. And the bruising. I didn’t want to look at my ribs.
“She’s going to be out for a few hours. We’ll fix her foot. It’s probably best that you head back home. Visiting hours are about over anyway.”
“Right. Okay. Thank you,” I said. It took me a moment before I had enough energy to push off the wall and leave. The other two worked on treating my mom’s foot.
That ended up being the fastest I’d left the hospital before. The entire time I drove home, I cried. Seeing me didn’t help her, it only made it worse. All because I looked more like my dad than she liked. I knew that. I had his nose, his eyes, his cheekbones. My eyebrows lowered the same way his did when I was in deep thought. My lips were the same shape, and turned down the same way his did when I frowned. My skin was paler than his was, and even more so now after dealing with Lindie.
I rubbed my head and winced at the slight pain. She nearly pulled out a clump of my hair. I shoved my sleeve up and glanced at my arm, grimacing. A bruise was already forming from when she grabbed me. I’d have to make sure to keep it covered for school. Maybe wear a long sleeve.
As soon as I pulled into my driveway, I jumped out and beelined for my house, wanting to hide for the rest of the day as I tried to wrap my head around the visit with Lindie.
I didn’t make it far before I heard my name.
“Cadence?”
Mentally groaning, I turned and watched as Seth jogged across the road and over to me. His smile dipped into a frown as he took in my expression. I imagined I looked like a ghost.
“What’s going on? Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. I’m just going to go lie down and get some rest. Today has been eventful enough.”
“The others said you took off for an appointment. Is everything okay?”
“Yes. I just need to be alone for a little bit. Go take a nap.”
He frowned as he glanced back at my house. For a moment, his expression looked fierce until he cleared it. “I’d feel better if you weren’t here.”
“And I’d feel better if you left me alone. I just want some rest.” My words were laced with iciness, hating that he was keeping me from going inside. All I had to do was go in, take a pill for the pain, and go to sleep. Then I could wipe away the terrible ending to a decent day.
Seth’s eyes widened as he realized he’d overstepped my boundaries. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m worried about you.”
