“You won’t leave me alone.” Lainey shook her head at her slowly. “Dana, you have to start living your own life now. Samara seems great, and you seem like you’re crazy about her. Don’t lose her because you’re too busy with me or our parents.”
“I know. I thought she’d call today, but she hasn’t yet.”
“It’s only noon here. She’d probably call later, but you should just call her yourself and talk to her about what happens when she gets back to finish filming. I don’t want to be the reason you two break up, Dana.”
“I know. I don’t want that, either. Sometimes, I just feel things so intensely that I can’t handle anything else. I was so scared that I was going to lose you, Lainey. I never leave, and the one time I do, you get hit by a car.”
“You went to school for four years in Pittsburgh, and everything was fine.”
“Mom was already sick then. We just didn’t know.”
“Not when you were eighteen. God, Dana… I’m surprised you didn’t try to follow me when I went to college just to make sureI’dbe okay.” Lainey chuckled.
“Do you think there’s something wrong with me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Ididwish I could’ve followed you to school, but Mom wouldn’t let me. I still had to finish high school.” Dana shrugged. “But when I was in Pittsburgh, it wasn’t easy for me. I constantly texted you and Mom. I worried when you were on the road for away matches, and during the matches themselves, when I couldn’t go. I worried you’d get injured and wouldn’t be able to play anymore.”
“You did?”
“Yes. And when you and Paige went on your vacation together for your one-year anniversary, I worried then, too. I thought about going with you, but I didn’t ask.”
“The answer would’ve been no,” Lainey replied with a small laugh that clearly hurt her. “We had a whole lot of sex on that trip. I don’t think my little sister being there would’ve been good.”
Dana laughed and said, “I don’t know how to just turn it off.”
“You don’t turn it off, Dana. You turn itdown. There’s a difference. You trust Paige. She called you as soon as it happened, right? She was at the hospital with me from moment one and never left my side.”
“But she was crying the whole time, and I had to make sure they all ate.”
“She was crying because she loves me. She saw me unconscious, getting into an ambulance. I’d cry, too, if that were her. She would’ve eaten, Dana. She’s Paige. She’s strong and capable. If Mom wasn’t eating, and you weren’t there, Paige would’ve taken care of her. Dad would have. You probably just steamrolled everyone like you always do.”
“How do I not, though? How do I just leave on a trip or move away completely and trust that you’ll all be okay?”
“You just do,” Lainey replied. “And you trustus. We’re adults. We’re okay. You can love us and worry a little bit from afar while still being happy, Dana. You don’t need to sacrifice what you really want orwhoyou really want because of us.”
“Hey, is it okay to come back in?”
Dana turned and saw Paige there, holding a plate with a sandwich and chips on it in one hand, as well as a glass of water in the other.
“Yeah, baby,” Lainey replied.
“You’re due for another pain pill, so eat a few bites of this and then take that. I made you turkey and Swiss. Is that okay?”
“Of course, it is. It’s my favorite,” Lainey said with asmile as Paige sat down on the bed and handed her the plate.
“Oh, she’s going to need a–” Dana started.
“The tray,” Paige finished. “I’ve got it.” She picked up the tray she had by the bed and put it over Lainey’s legs. “There you go, babe.”
“Thank you,” Lainey said and put the plate down.
Paige added the water glass, a napkin, and the pain pill.
“Do you want some fruit, too? I went with chips because you usually have them with a sandwich, but I can slice you an apple and put some peanut butter on the side.”
“For a snack later?” Lainey asked. “I’m not all that hungry. I just know I need to eat.”
