Brian
“Sarah? What the hell! What's wrong?"
I jogged to her with my heart in my throat as Sarah rose to greet me. I gave a surprised grunt as she lunged at me, wrapping her arms tight around my waist.
"Oh, Brian!" she cried. Her body was wracked in shudders.
Fear burned in my stomach as Sarah buried her face in my shirt and wept. "What is it? Is it Diane?" I forced the words past my throat.Please, God, no.
Her head shook against my chest.
"I-is it you? Are you sick?"
After losing her dad and sister to cancer, Sarah was vigorous about getting herself checked out. We were all concerned about the possibility that the disease was hereditary.
When her head shook again, I let out a sigh of relief.Thank God.This family didn't need any more bad news.
With my greatest worries abated, I gingerly grasped Sarah's shoulders.
"Sarah, honey, hang on." I gently pushed her back. "I've been on the job site all day. You're probably breathing in a lot of dust and dirt."
"Sorry." Sarah sniffed, but she still grasped at the lapels of my shirt, refusing to let me go.
"Tell me what happened. Why are you crying?"
I wasn't lying when I said I was filthy, so I didn't know what to do with my hands. Her body was still pressed up against mine, but it seemed impersonal to keep them at my sides when she was in apparent distress.
"Can I come in?" Her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen from crying. "I've just had a terrible day, and I know only you'd understand."
I swallowed back a wave of guilt. I was exhausted and on a high from my lunch with Maria. Seeing Sarah when I was already feeling the burden of ignoring her and Diane's dinner invites made me feel like an absolute ass. I should've called Diane today.
But then you would have missed out on seeing Maria.
Renewed guilt clawed at me.
Sarah peered up as fresh tears gleaned in her eyes. I immediately curved my arm around her shoulders and guided her toward my front door. "Of course you can. You're always welcome."
I opened my front door and ushered her inside. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"Just water," she sniffed.
I left her to compose herself in the lounge while I grabbed a couple of bottles of water out of the fridge. When I returned, Sarah was sitting on my couch, clutching her bag to her chest. She looked so forlorn that I considered calling Diane.
"Sar?"
Her head shot up, and she rasped her thanks as I handed her the water. She twisted the cap off and gulped down half the contents.
"Listen, I need to clean up." As much as I wanted to chat with her, to make sure she was okay, I felt and probably smelled dirty. "I'll be back in twenty, okay? And then we can talk."
She gave me a shaky smile and a small nod.
Upstairs, I quickly turned on the shower and shucked my dirty clothes. I stood under the warm spray and let my head hang low, allowing the pressure to rain gently down my neck. I shouldn't have ignored my family. Sarah was absolutely distraught, but how long had she been this way? With Frank and Hannah gone, they both needed me. And what had I done? Made excuses and dodged their calls.
Hannah's beautiful face swam in my mind, and I couldn't help but feel like I'd let her down. Unable to stand the guilt, I turned the tap cold and lifted my face to the stinging spray.
When I came downstairs, I found Sarah curled up on the couch. The TV was on, and she’d grabbed a blanket from my linen closet. Thankfully, her tears had dried up, but her face was still splotchy, her eyes swollen.
I sat down next to her, my brow furrowed in concern. "What happened, Sar?"
