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“No, I just . . . I don’t think you guys need to take care of me. You have stuff to do. Work. Lives. You shouldn’t have to play nursemaid to the crazy lady.”
As Steele placed her on the bed, she sensed the mood in the room change.
Glancing up, she took in the thunderous look on his face.
Then, looking over, she saw the way that Grady’s face had grown cold.
Uh-oh.
“Crazy lady?” Steele whispered. He turned to Grady. “Did you hear that shit?”
“Yep. And I didn’t like it.”
“Well, it’s the truth!” she cried. She hadn’t slept last night. And she knew Steele hadn’t either, since he’d watched her like a hawk the entire night. And today, she was exhausted, sore, and so worried she could barely keep herself from throwing up.
Luckily, she didn’t have much in her stomach to throw up if she did.
“It is not the fucking truth. And if you say that again, I’ll turn you over my knee and redden your ass.”
“Steele,” Grady warned.
“Not right now,” Steele added. “Once you’re feeling better.”
“But I’m not actually injured. It’s all in my dumb head. So how do I get better?”
“If you need a therapist, we get you a therapist,” Steele said. “Need a physio, we get that. Nurse, we’re onto it.”
“I don’t want to be an invalid! I don’t want you to have to take care of me. You didn’t sign on for that.” It wasn’t fair to them.
She didn’t want to be a burden.
“Everything, Effie,” Grady told her.
She threw her hands up in the air. “Everything doesn’t include me being bonkers! I can’t . . . I don’t know . . . there’s no happy in me.” She rubbed her chest.
“What?” Steele gave her a confused look.
“I can’t find the happy. There’s no positive about this. Everything seems dark . . . gray . . . black. Where’s the happy gone?”
Steele sat on one side of her, Grady on the other.
“What do I do?” She tugged at her earring.
“What you do is hold on to us,” Steele told her, gently moving her hand away from her ear.
“We know about the dark, Little one,” Grady added. “We’ve lived there for a long time.”
“After my sister died, my whole world went black,” Steele told her. “All that kept me going was Grady. And then along came my ray of sunshine. So sweet that she brought color to my life.”
Dear Lord.
“So. Hold. Onto. Us,” Steele said fiercely.
“I’m scared.” Tears dripped down her face.
“Then you hold on harder,” Grady told her.
“You’ll hold me back?” she asked.
