“We all learned first aid and had refresher courses. Our parents ensured it. So yes, I helped him. Then I passed out, because when I woke I was in the hospital.”
“Your parents don’t know.” It wasn’t a question, just stating facts.
“No.”
“You had no right to keep this from any of us, Maggie. Someone would have come over to you.”
“I told you I thought it was the right thing to do. I called my parents as soon as I could, told them I was okay. Shaken up. Nash said he’d come over, but I told him no.”
“You should have said yes.”
“I know that now.” Maggs exhaled. “I’m not sure why I didn’t, actually. I was out of it for a while, and then I thought, life goes on, I’ll be sweet. Until then nothing had really shaken the foundations of my life. There had been no major event to rock my confidence. I’d believed this wouldn’t. I was wrong.”
“So the panic attacks, the ‘don’t let them shoot me, Fin’—this all stems from what happened?”
Maggs nodded.
“And that was over six months ago, right?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not long to recover from a trauma like you suffered. Why didn’t you come home sooner if you were struggling?”
“I was okay to start with. I took some time to recover, and then when I started leaving the flat, I could feel the panic. I thought everyone was out to get me and wanted to shoot me.”
“You should have come home sooner!” He slapped his other hand on the table, making her jump. “How could you believe that life would simply carry on like nothing had happened after something like that? You can’t expect to return to normal in a handful of months, when in all likelihood it will take you a great deal longer.”
“Don’t yell at me.” Maggs glared at him. “I thought I was strong enough to get over this without help.”
“You are not that dumb.”
“Asshole.” Maggs tried to tug her hand free, but he didn’t release her.
“You spoken to anyone?”
“I’m not talking to you about this anymore.”
“Think again. Now answer the question.”
She clamped her lips together.
“You look about five. I have a vision of you annoying your brothers with just that look on your face.”
“Believe me, they deserved it,” Maggs snapped.
“I want to help you, Maggie. Talk to me.”
Her sigh was loud. “I spoke to a doctor, and she told me to come home.”
“At least someone showed sense.”
“You don’t get to speak to me that way when you are carrying around all this emotional baggage with your family. That crap with your father.”
“That’s different.” He glared back at her. “Suggesting that my family circumstances are in any way similar to what you went through is ridiculous.”
“Really, how do you figure that? It’s shaped you, made you make choices you wouldn’t have if you lived in the perfect family unit.”
“I doubt there’s such a thing,” he muttered.
