“She’s beautiful, Lil. Just like her mom.” Eve meant it too. They were both so lovely. Light was streaming through the kitchen window signaling that it was morning. An hour ago, Eve would never have noticed the sunrise. She hated mornings, the dawning of a new day without Lily. But today everything was bright and clear, as if she were waking from an eight-year slumber.
“It’s your mom, Lilypad,” Eve said, her voice low and steady. “It’s your mom. I know your heart is broken over Daddy. Mine is too. It’s just… he loved you so much. I think he loved you too much. And I know you’re scared but I’m here, Lil. I’m right here.”
Eve held Lily’s gaze, watching as Lily lifted her chin and straightened her shoulders in an outward show of courage. So brave, Eve thought. Her brave, brave girl. Lily took Eve’s hand and clutched it tightly, staring down at their intertwined fingers.
Without warning, Lily wrapped her arms around Eve’s neck and hugged her again, her grip so tight she thought her ribs might break.
So be it, she thought. Eve melted into Lily’s arms. All those moments she’d forced herself to forget: Lily, eight months old as she tentatively crawled across the living room carpet, keeping pace with Abby by her side. Lily as a teenager—no longer awkward and gangly but a gifted athlete. Lily and Abby, making a mess as they baked cookies, arguing over who got to eat the last of the batter. Eve remembered seeing Lily that last morning, her backpack slung over her shoulder, munching on a Pop-Tart. So tan and full of enthusiasm, she’d waved good-bye and disappeared out the front door. Disappeared from their lives. And now here they were, inches away from each other, as if no time had passed at all. Neither one of them moved, not even when they heard the front door open as the nameless man slipped out of Eve’s house.
Eve waited, fighting the shame, and then she knew she needed to get moving. The police were coming and she still had Abby to think about. She hated to leave Lily again but she had no choice. She stood up.
“I’ll be right back, Lil. Stay right here. I’ll be right back.”
Eve grabbed the cordless phone and went into the dining room, still keeping an eye on Lily. She kept her voice low and nervously dialed, her fingers so clumsy she had to redial twice. Wes picked up his cell phone after two rings. Eve didn’t even wait for him to say hello.
“Wes, it’s Eve. Lily came home. You have to go to Abby’s. The police are on their way to her, but you need to tell her that her sister is back. It has to be you.”
“Eve, what are you talking about? What do you mean she’s home? She’s… I—”
“I don’t have time for questions, Wes. Go get Abby!”
Eve hung up the phone and hurried back into the living room, where she returned to her spot on the floor beside Lily and Sky. She wrapped her arms around her daughter, rocking her like she had when she was a baby.
“Hold on, Lil. I’m here. Your mom has you and I’m never letting you go.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
ABBY
Abby fumbled in the dark for her phone. She never turned it off. Never let it out of her sight. She always believed that one day she’d get a call with news about her sister. It’s what kept her going. She frowned at the sight of Wes’s name on her caller ID. Abby quickly silenced the ringer.
What the fuck was wrong with him? It was five o’clock in the morning. What did he not understand about needing space? Abby swallowed hard, closing her eyes tightly as she pressed one thumb to one pinky and slowly counted to ten. One of her shrinks had suggested this stupid exercise. She’d never admit it to him, he was a smug asshole with a God complex, but the trick worked. When the panic overwhelmed her, it was a lifesaver. She ignored the voice mail icon when it appeared, and sat up in bed. If she were smart, she’d go back to sleep before her shift at the hospital started. But Abby was too annoyed. She’d never sleep now. It was pointless to even try.
She wasn’t entirely comfortable living alone. She’d found the silence since Wes moved out more unsettling than she’d anticipated. But it was her choice. She’d wanted him to go. She’d demanded it. And for the most part, she was glad that she was by herself, that she didn’t have to try so hard. There was no pointless chatter about work or politics or any of the other mindless bullshit that fills the spaces when there’s nothing else to say. She didn’t have to make excuses about why she had two breakfasts, or why she stayed in bed until two o’clock on her day off. No, for her this was the only option. She was free to make her own choices, good or bad.
Abby got out of bed and grabbed her gray terrycloth robe off the back of the door. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the full-length mirror and grimaced in disgust. Fat, round face, belly swollen to an unnatural size. One moment she’d been thin and sexy, the kind of girl that turned heads, and the next, she was this… this pig.