Page 13 of Family Bonds- Garrett & Justine

“I’ve seen and heard a lot more nauseating things than that.”

“We all have,” he said. “I’m going to finish up, then go for a run and shower and call it a night.”

“You do that,” his mother said. “I’ll talk to you later in the week and let you know if we’ll be on the island.”

Garrett hung up after that, put his dish in the dishwasher, then went to his room to change. Putting on his running sneakers, he grabbed his earbuds and armband to strap his phone to, locked up the house, and took off on a dash hoping to outrace his past.

4

COWORKER IS CUTE

“Are you eating ice cream for dinner?” Jordan, Justine’s sister, asked her at seven.

“Maybe,” she said around a mouthful.

“Your day was that bad?” Jordan asked.

“No,” she said. “It wasn’t. Just a lot going on.” And to learn, with names and faces on top of it.

“How hard can it be?” Jordan asked. “All the drugs have names on the bottles, just find them, and count.”

Her sister was laughing on the other end. It’s like it was a joke between then.

Jordan was in her residency right now as a surgeon. The last thing her sister needed in her life was what they went through as a family a few months ago.

What they werestillgoing through.

But her sister couldn’t just pick up and leave like Justine could.

Did she feel bad leaving her younger sister back in Indiana? Yeah, she did.

Jordan had always been stronger than her though.

At least in her eyes.

“Maybe I forgot how to count,” she said.

“Not likely,” Jordan said. “You were probably annoying people by stating policies and procedures you spent all weekend reading.”

She wouldn’t comment on that. It was true. Her sister would only laugh.

And she tried to point that out today to Garrett Mills and felt like an idiot afterward.

“Are you not working today?”

“My one rare day off. I was there all weekend and spent most of the day sleeping. I won’t sleep tonight.”

“Sure, you will,” she said. “You fall asleep the minute your head hits the pillow.”

“So do you,” Jordan said. “We get that from Dad.”

She didn’t want to talk about their father, but she couldn’t hide her head under pillows anymore.

“We did,” she said softly.

“Are you okay?” Jordan asked. “Maybe you shouldn’t have left here.”

“I couldn’t stay,” she said. “Too many reminders. You’re busy enough that no one is paying attention.”

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