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“After you left the village, Abraham took your sister.” I watch her eyes widen and horror overtake her expression. “Your mom and the rest of the village were told she’d killed herself because you left. She’s been kept in Abraham’s basement for all the years you’ve been gone. He… He…” Damn, I wish I could kill the fucker all over again.
“Just say it.” Addison closes her eyes and braces herself for what’s next.
“He took her so she could be punished for what you did.” The color drains from her face as she shakes her head back at me.
“No.”
“I don’t want ya blamin’ yourself for this. I wish I didn’t have to tell you, but you need to be prepared for how fucked-up she’s gonna be. She was down there for years.”
“Did she have any children?” Addison tries so hard to be brave but I can see how disturbed she is. Stress isn’t good for her, or our baby, so I have to focus on keeping her calm.
“No, not accordin’ to Annie. She wasn’tchosenlike you were.”
“So, she was used as a human punch bag instead?” Addison says as she lets the idea sink into her head.
“There are many people to blame for this, Addison, you ain’t one of ‘em. That place wasn’t like anythin’ I’ve ever seen before. It was like goin’ back in history. Those men fucked with everyone’s heads. People were livin’ in fear, petrified to leave. What happened to your sister wasn’t your fault. But we will fix it, okay?”
“I should have taken her with me.” Addison shakes her head as more tears spill over her cheeks.
“You had no time, you thought you’d killed that bastard. You were scared. She will understand that. Abraham is responsible for all this. I need you to remember that.”
Addison nods and blows out a long breath before we get outta the car. I hold her hand as we walk through the hospital and onto the ward where Everleigh has a private room.
“Addison.” The staff nurse who was here when I left yesterday afternoon smiles at us as we approach the door.
“I was just about to call. Your sister’s awake.”
“Oh my God!” Addison's hands cover her mouth, her shoulders sagging with relief as she looks up at me with a sparkle of excitement in her eyes.
“Is she okay?” I question, remembering how scared the poor girl was yesterday.
“She seems calm, though she’s still quite heavily sedated. You mustn’t expect too much out of her. We haven’t spoken to her about anything, we’ll have someone from the psych department come and talk to her once we think she’s ready. What we need to do is make sure she knows she’s safe here,” the nurse explains
“Okay.” Addison nods back enthusiastically.
“Well then, you better head on in and see your sister.” The nurse smiles as she makes her way over to her station.
“This is it.” She takes another brave breath as she ventures inside with me following behind her.
I’m surprised to see Everleigh sitting in an upright position, her head facing out the window and looking out at the top of the buildings that surround the hospital.
“Everleigh.” Addison slowly approaches the bed, but she doesn’t turn to face her, she just keeps on staring vacantly out the window.
“Evy, I’m so glad you're here.” Ada reaches out to touch her sister’s hand and when she turns her head, her eyes widen with fear. She snatches her hand away and starts to tremble.
“Everleigh, it’s me. Addison. You're safe now.”
“No. no. no.” She shakes her head violently, crawling up the bed like she’s petrified.
“Addison.” I step forward and take my girl’s shoulders.
“Get away from me.” Everleigh’s fingers grip the bed sheet that covers her. “Get her away from me!” she screams.
“Evy. It’s okay now. No one can—”
Addison gets cut off by the piercing scream her sister makes, and the room quickly floods with nurses.
“Skid?” Addison looks up at me helplessly as I usher her back out the door. The nursing team gather around Everleigh as she thrashes against the bed. Still screaming like she’s petrified.
