Before She Was Found(86)

“What is it?” Michaela asked. “Did Cora take a turn for the worse?”

“No,” I said as I grabbed my coat from the back of my chair. “It’s her sister, Kendall. She just tried to kill herself.”

I rushed back to the hospital, and made a beeline to the emergency room where Kendall was being treated.

My old friend Dr. Soto was working again. “Where are they?” I asked and he directed me to one of the examination rooms. I tapped on the glass and when the door slid open I was slammed with a sense of déjà vu. Kendall was attached to an IV, eyes closed, her mouth black with chalky charcoal, a sure sign they pumped her stomach. Mara was sitting in a chair next to her, bent over in anguish.

“Mara,” I whispered. “How is she? How are you?”

Mara lifted her head; her eyes were bloodshot, her face streaked with tears. “I don’t know what’s happening,” she choked out. “Why would Kendall do something like this?” Kendall stirred in her bed and Mara and I moved to the hallway.

“She took pills?” I asked.

Mara wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. “Yeah, after she ran out of Cora’s room earlier she didn’t come back and, honestly, we didn’t go looking for her. Cora’s fever spiked again and we were worried about her.” Mara looked over at Kendall’s sleeping form. “We just thought that it was overwhelming for Kendall and she needed some fresh air, some space. If I knew she was going to do this, I would have gone after her. She swallowed a bottle of Tylenol PM and God knows what else.”

“Has she been conscious?” I asked.

“Yes, just sleepy. I’ve nearly lost both my children in a matter of days, Dr. Gideon. What has my family done to deserve this? My husband is beside himself with anger. Did you know they let those kids go home? Can you believe that?”

This was news to me. Last I heard, Jordyn and the boy were the main suspects and were in custody and being questioned. Things were happening so fast. “Cora could lose her eye and Kendall tried to...and she refuses to talk to me, won’t tell me what she was thinking.” Mara looked at me helplessly. “How can I help her if she doesn’t tell me what’s wrong?”

“Sometimes confiding to those people who mean the most to us can be the most difficult,” I said. On the other side of the door Kendall blinked her eyes open.

“But she should know that she can always talk to me. I’m her mom.” Mara’s voice broke on the final word.

“Would you like me to visit with Kendall?” I asked.

Mara dug a tissue out of her pocket and dabbed at her nose. “But you can’t repeat what she says to you, right?” Mara asked. “I won’t be any closer to knowing why she did this.”

“You’re right,” I told her. “I can’t tell you the details of our conversation but I can help Kendall process what’s been happening, help her try to understand what she’s feeling. And I can encourage her to talk to you.”

Mara and I looked through the glass at Kendall, who pushed herself up in bed and wiped at her mouth with her sleeve, grimacing at the taste of charcoal. “It’s up to you, Mara, but at some point Kendall is going to need to talk to someone.” Mara knocked on the glass and gave Kendall a little wave and tried to muster a smile. Kendall looked away, pretending she didn’t see.

“Oh, Jesus,” Mara said, pressing her forehead against the door. “I can’t take much more of this and I know that Jim is already at the end of his rope. Please talk to Kendall. Please help her.”

“Give us a half hour,” I suggested. “It will be a start.”

Mara released a shuddery breath. “What should I do? I don’t know what to do.”

“Your husband is with Cora and I’m here with Kendall. Maybe go down to the cafeteria, take a walk.”

Mara looked hesitant. “How about just fifteen minutes?” I asked.

“Okay,” Mara agreed. “Okay.” I watched from the doorway as Mara went back into the examination room to tell Kendall that she’d be right back. She leaned down to give Kendall a peck on the cheek but her daughter pulled away and the kiss was lost to the air.

I made sure Mara was heading toward the elevators before I stepped back into the examination room. Kendall crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the ceiling, trying to set her chin in defiance but couldn’t quite keep it from trembling. I pulled a chair close to her bedside and sat. “You’ve had quite the day,” I said.

“Are you going to start yelling at me, too?” she asked hatefully, her voice raspy. Most likely from the tube that was shoved down her throat. “My dad freaked out. How could you do this, Kendall? How could you do this to us?” She lowered her voice, mimicking her father. “Like it had anything to do with them.”

“It didn’t?” I asked. “Your parents have been focusing a lot of their attention on Cora...”

“You think I swallowed those pills because I’m jealous? Are you kidding me? I just want it all to go away.”

“What do you want to go away?” I asked. The pain in her eyes was difficult to witness.

Kendall eased back onto her pillow and closed her eyelids. “I did something bad,” she murmured, tears squeezing from the corners of her eyes. Minutes ticked by as I waited for her to say more and she finally opened her eyes. “What Cora says to you is private, right?” she asked. “So you can’t tell anybody what I say either, right?”