Baby Doll(27)

Abby’s joy evaporated, replaced by soul-crushing fear. She shook her head.

“Marriage is for old people, Lil,” she said, trying to keep the subject light.

“But you’re having a baby?”

“It’s a long story.”

“I want to hear it. All of it. There’s so much I’ve missed, Abby. I want to know all about your life. About everything.”

“We have time. We have all the time in the world. But Dr. Amari made me promise that we’d both get some rest.”

Abby’s heart was still racing as she attempted to shut down this conversation. She began to ease herself out of the bed. But Lily held on to her.

“Stay here. Sleep with me tonight.”

Abby didn’t need convincing. She slowly eased herself back down, pulling the covers up to her chin.

“Good night, Lilypad.”

“Good night, Abby.”

Lily clutched Abby’s hand. Lily’s breathing grew steady and then she slowly drifted off. But Abby knew that tonight sleep would elude her. Lily hadn’t asked about Wes, but she would. And then what? What was she going to do? Abby stared up at the ceiling, thinking about tomorrow and how she was going to fix this situation. She’d stay awake all night if she had to. She wasn’t going to let anyone come between her and her sister. Not again. Not f*cking again.





CHAPTER SIXTEEN


EVE


Once her girls were settled, Eve met with Dr. Amari. She’d wanted to discuss a treatment plan. They’d both worked at this hospital for over twelve years. Dr. Amari was candid, warning Eve that things wouldn’t be easy.

“You’ll have to take the girls’ lead, Eve. This is something they’re going to have to do. But you’ll play an important part in helping them recover.”

Eve promised she’d do whatever it took to repair her family. She’d been headed back to Lily’s room when she’d spotted Wes sitting in the waiting area, head in his hands, looking sadder than she could ever remember, and that was saying a lot.

Eve rubbed her neck, feeling that familiar pain, the ache that started when things in her life spiraled out of control. She’d done yoga, visited tons of chiropractors, tried acupuncture, but none of it worked. Finally, one of the many therapists she’d seen had given her “tough love.”

“Stress has to go somewhere, Eve. It’s a living organism inside you. Until you exorcise all those demons, none of it will go away,” he’d said.

Eve stopped seeing the therapist that day. Why pay a hundred and fifty dollars an hour to listen to someone drone on and on about how Eve had the power to fix her own life? If she’d had that kind of power, she’d have fixed it already. But boy, did she have power now. Eve was already thinking about the lawsuit she was going to file against the school. That was a given. She’d sue the school, the school district. Hell, she was thinking about suing the city of Lancaster. All of them were going to pay for failing to protect her baby. But that was for later. Right now she needed to make sure Wes was okay. As much as she wanted to ease his worries, Eve knew that the more he pushed Abby, the worse he’d make things. He looked up when he saw her, his eyes bloodshot from exhaustion and worry.

“Did you see Abby? I mean, it’s crazy. She’s freaking out. She’s convinced herself that Lily will hate her if she finds out about us.”

“You know how Abby is,” Eve began.

“Fucking crazy?” he said. Frustrated, Wes stopped himself. “I didn’t mean that. But we’re having a kid together. That has to count for something.”

“Abby needs some time. They both do.”

Wes was pissed. She could see that, but he fought to control it. Eve had always admired that trait, one she’d witnessed over and over again throughout the years. She knew it was a defense mechanism, a way to protect himself. Wes was a good kid in spite of the shitty hand he’d been dealt. His mother died when he was in middle school, and he’d been raised by his father. Joe wasn’t a mean drunk, but he wasn’t equipped to be a single dad. He was basically worthless when it came to raising his kid or holding down a job. Eve knew that was part of the reason Wes had spent so much time at their house, a place with a semblance of order and normalcy. She often thought that Lily was Wes’s salvation, that she’d helped fill the void in his life. At first it bothered her that Lily and Wes had been so serious. “They’re too young,” she’d tell Dave. But Wes was such a good kid she couldn’t really object.

After Lily’s disappearance, Wes was still there. Eve had watched Abby transform into someone she didn’t quite recognize. One day Abby was getting busted for shoplifting paint and ditching school. The next, she was catatonic, refusing to leave her bedroom or speak to anyone. Abby had been angry with Eve for so many things. Dave’s death. Eve’s terrible decisions when it came to men—and there’d been many. Wes was Abby’s savior, pulling her from the brink time and time again.

When Abby and Wes had started dating—or whatever they called it these days—Eve was grateful, willingly relinquishing responsibility. A twin should never be alone. They come into this world with a partner. If Wes was willing to fill Lily’s void, Eve wasn’t going to stop him. She’d let it continue and then right before high school graduation, Wes arrived at the hospital and knocked on Eve’s office door. They’d gone for coffee in the commissary, sat at the same table she and Dave had eaten countless meals at—Dave the handsome ER doctor, Eve the paper-pushing hospital director. Wes was nervous, playing with an empty sugar packet as he stared down at the table.