Page 76 of A Silence So Divine
Her answering look is one of confusion.
“You said I cannot imagine it,” I elaborate. “But you can?”
It takes her a moment, but once my words catch up to her,somethingflickers across her features. There’s a sheen in her eyes, either remorse or dejection. Perhaps a mixture. Mulling my words over, she looks to the ground. A shaky breath, a hard swallow.
“To an extent,” comes her vague reply. Always vague. How could I expect anything else?
As much as I want to escape this grating conversation, I swallow my pride and push for answers.
“And why would that be?”
Veda suddenly looks defeated. “There are things I have not told you.” Her admission comes out carefully. Probably because she knows what she says next could tear the relationship we’ve built to shreds.
“I would like to take Eden somewhere. I think it might help,” she suggests, eyeing me with apprehension.
If it weren’t for the stitches in my face, I would attempt to scrub the tension out of it with my palms. Instead, I’m forced tosit in my discomfort. And every time Veda opens her mouth, she adds to it.
“Where?” I sneer, leaving her to walk into the adjoining bathroom. I turn the tap on and yank a towel off a hook. Wetting an edge, I scrub some of the blood from my chest. Veda’s reflection appears in the mirror in front of me.
“A house. It’s a few towns over, no more than an hour and a half drive from here.”
Tossing the towel into the sink with unnecessary force, I shoot the woman behind me a glare.
“The last thing she needs is to be carted around to God knows where,” I snap, leaving little room for argument. Or so I thought.
She begins to talk as I spin around, escaping the bathroom. “Eden doesn’t even understand what sheis. The least you could do is give me an opportunity to help her work through this.”
She’s hot on my heels as I maneuver around the unfamiliar space. I spot my shirt and snag it from the nightstand, tugging it over my head. The motion gives me a brief bout of vertigo, but I don’t let it show.
“And how exactly do you intend to do that by taking her somewhere? If you want to have a conversation, fine, but you can do it here. With me.”
“You’re having quite the reaction for someone who doesn’t care about the girl.”
My eyes shoot to hers. I’m met with a stubborn set jaw, but mirth dances in her stare. There’s a challenge hanging in the air between us, and I’m damned either way. Exhaustion weakens my defenses, and all I offer is a roll of my eyes. I make my way to the door.
“All I’m asking is this: What lengths will you go to for her?”
My hand pauses mid-turn of the doorknob, and my shoulders tense. In the back of my mind, the words that I worked so hard to tamp down wriggle free from their confines. Slamming to theforefront, I’m struck with the image of Creed’s face, twisted in anger and disappointment. Disappointment in me.
For once in your life, can you care for someone other than yourself?
Squeezing my eyes shut, I inhale a staggering breath. Giving in isn’t anything familiar to me. It’s quite unpleasant. It feels like weakness.
When I speak, I don’t turn around. I don’t want to see the victory on Veda’s face.
“I’ll think about it.”
Thirty One
Eden
Imust go to mama.
Thirty Two
Cecil
“WAKE UP!”
