Page 91 of On a Fault Line

My windows are tinted, so I move my seat backward and pull her into my arms.

Selfishly, I need to hold her and feel her warmth.

“Come back to me, Princess.”

My hands rub at her back, slow and deliberate circles, while I whisper in her ear.

“Do you remember when I told you I was adopted? Yup. I always yearned for a family like yours. The people who adopted me after my grandparents passed were older, and they too left this life before guardians really should. I’m not jealous or anything. I’m thankful that you have the parents and brothers that you have. They love you, Penny. And I do too.”

I shift her in my arms, playing with her hair. And I continue to try to just be with her.

“Your brothers love you so much they hired me to come check in on you in Seattle. I visited a few times a month. Sometimes I would even get a hotel for a long weekend and stay and monitor your progress. I was there, Penny. Like an invisible string, just trying to be the tie that held the Hoffmans together, just as I am now.”

The song changes over to a different one, and Penny leans her head against my neck.

“Come on, sweet girl. I know you are in there, probably screaming to come out of the fog. You can get there. Focus on my voice. I need you back with me, changing out my iced tea in the fridge with water and chocolate syrup. You know I almost choked that day you did that? How about that time you changed all my shoelaces to neon pink ones? Or the time you plastic wrapped the door? You didn’t even get to see my reaction when I tried to walk th?—”

Penny’s little giggle is barely a whisper.

“Princess?” She doesn’t say anything, so I keep talking to try to coax her out of her hiding place. “I think the smell of popcorn is permanently engrained in the wall paint of my apartment. I catch whiffs of it when I walk past certain areas.”

Penny’s fragile body stirs, as if she’s fighting some mental demons. She just needs to allow me to fight them with her. It’s not realistic to do this alone.

“I need you to come back to me, Princess.”

And then her eyes open. “Where are we?” she whispers, her throat seeming dry.

Holding her face in my hands, I kiss her cheeks, squeezing her warming body to me.

“Oh, thank goodness you are back.”

“Where did I go? I’m really confused.”

Tears roll down her cheeks, and I try to catch as many as I can with my thumbs.

“Don’t cry. Please, don’t cry. You’re going to be okay.”

“Are you listening to Grace and Jace without me?”

I let out a laugh. “No. We were listening to it together,” I defend.

“I don’t remember.”

“I know. But you might once your brain has a chance to sort through the pieces.”

I’m just not sure I want her to remember. If remembering causes her to enter a semicatatonic state, then I’m not sure it’s worth it. I need Mitch here to guide us through the next steps.

While he’s not a psychologist, he’ll know what to do. Dr. Saber has been a positive influence on so many people, it’s no wonder he’s the doctor on retainer for most of the Hoffman family.

Penny looks down at her damp dress. I didn’t even consider she’s still soaking wet, and now I am too.

“I was at a photoshoot, wasn’t I?”

“You were.”

“And you had something to tend to beforehand, so Chris brought me.”

“That’s correct.”

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