“Of course.” I usher her inside and peek my head out down the hall. It’s still dark and everything is quiet. “Are you okay? What happened?”
Her eyes well up with tears as she stands in my kitchen leaning against the counter. I flip on the dining room light and start a pot of coffee before grabbing her some clothes and a towelfrom the bathroom. She doesn’t answer me, but I don’t take it personally.
“Go ahead,” I softly say, gesturing towards the guest bedroom and bathroom. I watch as her frail body moves slowly through the living room over to the bedroom. The white shirt she’s wearing is covered in wrinkles and could definitely use a wash. It almost looks like she’s been wearing it for days.
Hannah just showed up at my door. Something’s wrong.
It’s early in the morning, but something urges me to reach out to him. His reply comes not even a minute later.
Nate
I’m on my way.
Nate’s at my door before Hannah even resurfaces from the bathroom. He comes in, kisses me sweetly and takes a seat at the table.
“Did she say what happened?” he asks, rubbing his eyes. It’s clear my text woke him up.
“No. She barely said anything.” I keep my voice at a whisper. “But, Nate. She has a bandage on her arm and if my true crime addiction has taught me anything, I’m afraid she’s hiding something.” My heart is racing at all of the different scenarios that are flashing through my mind.
Before Nate can answer, the sound of the bathroom door causes both of us to look in her direction. She’s at least showered and has put on clean clothes. She still looks run down and tired, but she makes her way over to the table and sits down across from Nate. She stares at him for a moment, like she’s not sure if he was here the whole time or just showed up.
“Do you want to talk about anything, Hannah?” he asks.
She shakes her head back and forth before taking a sip of her coffee.
“Not yet,” she says into the cup, closing her eyes and blowing into the steam. “But… I’m sorry, Mia. For the way I’ve treated you, the things I’ve said, just all of it… I should have been a better sister.” Her fingers grip the sides of the coffee cup as she takes another long sip.
“Why’d you shut me out, Han?” It doesn’t feel like the best time to ask her, but curiosity takes over. Hannah’s quiet for a moment, her eyes boring into mine before she answers.
“How were you fine after mom left?” she whispers. Her dark brown eyes narrow. “Dad crumbled. I got lost in the shuffle and you just seemed… fine. I guess I resented you for not being angry at her. At both of them. How’d you do it? Move past it like everything was fine.”
“You don’t think I was mad? Hannah, I was devastated. I was angry and upset, but I had you to think of. I couldn’t let our lives fall apart because of how dad handled it. Do you think I wanted to go straight to a job at the grocery store after school every single night? Everything around you fell apart, Han. I had to step up for you.”
Hannah stands from her seat, shuffling over to where I’m seated and leans down. For the first time in who knows how long, my little sister hugs me. It sends a wave of emotions through me as I sit there and hold her. My eyes lock with Nate’s as his lips are set in a firm line and he gives me a reassuring nod. I still don’t have answers as to what caused her to show up at my door this morning, but right now, she’s safe and she’s hugging me, and I’m counting this as a win.
It’s quarter after twelve and I don’t have much to show for my day so far. I have a client later this afternoon, but aside from that I’ve just been trying to be around in case Hannah needs me or finally wants to talk. She finally agreed to go get some rest and she’s still actually asleep now.
My thoughts of what happened are narrowed down to a few. The most obvious feels like something happened with her shitty boyfriend and that angers me enough to consider accepting jail time. But then within the anger there’s also regret and guilt. Should I have tried to find another way to help her? Did her moving down here just destine her for this kind of life? Problem solving mode is activated, but it’s put on a brief hold when Nate’s FaceTime comes through. He’s back with the team, gearing up for an interview he has later in the week, but today he said he’s meeting with the team therapist for the first time.
“Hey, Smalls.” His face comes into view on my screen and my heart just bursts at the sight of his smile.
“Hey, how was it?” I ask.
“First time, so it was okay. I was nervous, but she’s nice… and seems to know what she’s talking about.” His tongue darts out over his lips as he watches me through the screen. I don’t know if there will ever be a time that I’m used to the way Nate looks at me.
“How’s your sister?”
Sighing, I pick up the phone from the dresser. “She’s actually been asleep since you left.”
His lips curl into a smirk as I watch him get into his truck and start it. “Oh, well that’s good. I’m on my way over.”
“Okay, I have to leave in about an hour though,” I reply.
“It takes approximately seven seconds to kiss you.” He grins into the screen.
“Seven seconds, huh?” My lips curve at the way his blue eyes light up.
“Unless there are other ways you want to spend the time.” He smirks and it causes my cheeks to heat.
