They know.Oh crap, they know.
That thought kept playing in my head as I paused at the stairs to listen.But instead of hearing continued shouting, I only heard Mom’s softer tone as she spoke to my sister.Abi wasn’t supposed to be home for at least another week.She had school, final exams at college upstate at Trinity University.
Her choice of schools had confused me.I’d thought she would stay close to home, close to Hayat, but she’d fallen in love with Creswell Springs and was determined to attend the Ivy League-scale private university in the small town where Uncle Lyric lived.
“Honey, talk to us.Are you hurt?”Mom was crouched down in front of Abi, Dad beside her, worry tightening both their faces.
“I’m tired,” I thought I heard her whisper.She looked like hell.Hair crazy, clothes wrinkled like she’d been wearing them for days, her face a sickly color.
“Why are you yelling down here?”I demanded, descending the stairs in a rush.“Abi?What are you doing home?”
“I’m tired,” she said again, just as quietly.Scrubbing her hands over her face, she blinked a few times, her blue eyes wrecked.“Can I go to bed for a little while?We can talk later?”
Obviously, something bad had happened.My big sister didn’t run from anything, ever.She ran toward danger, typically with Hayat right beside her, leading the charge.Together, those two were fearless, and I’d almost confided in them so many times I’d lost count over the past weeks.
Looking at my sister now, I was glad I hadn’t.She was definitely going through her own shit, and it was on a level that outweighed mine.
“Sure, sweetheart,” Dad murmured, assisting Abi to her feet.“Do you need help?”
“I’m okay.”One look at her was proof enough that it was a lie, but she started up the stairs, leaving our parents at the bottom looking about as confused and helpless as I felt right then.
I followed after her, sensing she needed me, closing the door once we were in her room.“Abi, you look like hell.”She swayed.“Jesus Christ.”
She stumbled her way to the bed, tripping over her own feet as she kicked off her shoes.“I don’t want to talk about it.”
For a long moment, I stood there, watching her struggle to get into bed and pull the covers over herself.She bit back a frustrated sob as her head hit her pillow, the sound echoing inside me, matching all the chaotic feelings I’d been suppressing for months.
“Did someone hurt you?”I demanded, half afraid of the answer.
Abi turned away.“I just want to sleep.”
Climbing into bed beside her, I did what I’d been secretly hoping someone would do for me.I wrapped my arms around her.“What can I do?”
She shook her head, choking back another sob, and closed her eyes.
What the fuck had happened to my sister?
Ali
Abi fell asleep,and I just lay there, holding my sister.She smelled weird.Sweat and a mixture of other scents that made zero sense.Something smoky and acidic, which only added to my thousands of questions for her.
She was restless, shifting and occasionally whining.I brushed my fingers over her cheek like Mom would do to us when we didn’t feel well.My touch made her flinch, but then she melted into the contact, a few tears spilling from the corners of her closed eyes.
Sleep and Abi were a weird combination.Simplified, it was sleepwalking, but it wasn’t actually that simple.It occurred more often when she was stressed, and from the looks of it, it was a safe bet that she was close to a mental breakdown.If she wasn’t already there.
Hayat’s arrival was a relief.I let her take my place without hesitation.Whatever was going on with Abi, Hayat could help her through it better than anyone else.
I could hear my parents downstairs, along with my godparents’ voices.Stopping at the top step, I strained to hear their conversation, but I didn’t catch much.Like me, they were clueless about Abi’s sudden appearance.
Returning to my room, I groaned at the mess still on my bed.I cleaned up the trash, putting the majority in the little recycling container I kept beside my desk.Once the bed was clear, I took a long, hot shower and then changed the sheets and bedding so I wasn’t lying in crumbs.
Instead of a fresh case, I placed another one of Sixx’s hoodies on one of my pillows.He’d left it behind a few weeks before and it hadn’t been washed, so it smelled like him.
Sitting in the middle of my bed, I snuggled the pillow to my chest, breathing in the comforting scent of my boyfriend’s cologne.Finding my phone, I read through the many missed messages from earlier in the day.Sixx and Evan had each sent more than a dozen texts.
I told Sixx what had happened, Abi’s bizarre arrival and how she was acting.
Evan knew about as much information as I did.His texts were more throwing out theories than asking questions.Mostly, he wondered if Abi was crashing after another “sleepwalking” episode.That was exactly what I was wondering, worried that my sister was going to need some kind of inpatient treatment.
