Page 37 of Sweet Deal
“Michael,” Rachel continued, inching closer. “Remember what we talked about? About the voices? They lie to you.”
“Mommy!” Squirming in her brother’s grip, Lily began to cry. “I want Mommy.”
“I’m here, baby.” Kathy looked to Rachel then back to her daughter and son. “Please, Michael. Let me take Lily away.”
“It’s not Lily.” Michael spun and placing one hand on the open window, swung a leg over the ledge.
“Michael,” Rachel repeated with more calm than Jim would expect in this situation. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“We have to jump.”
Kathy screamed, “No!”
Rachel waved her back and took a slow minced step forward. “Michael. You love your sister.”
“This isn’t my sister.”
“Yes. Michael. I never lie to you. That’s Lily and she’s scared.”
For a moment, Jim thought the kid was going to agree, see the errors of his way, but in a flash, he turned and now Lily was dangling from the window.
Chapter Sixteen
Panic, cold and sharp, clawed at Rachel’s throat, but she shoved it down, forcing her voice to remain even, a calm anchor in the swirling chaos. Lily, a terrified child in Michael’s agitated grip, dangled precariously from the fourth-story window. One wrong move, one shift in Michael’s fractured reality, and the unthinkable would happen. “Michael, look at me. Ignore the voices. Look at me.”
His eyes, wild and unfocused, flickered briefly to her face. His grip on Lily remained firm as the child dangled from the window, her small legs kicking in terrified desperation.
“Mommy!” Lily’s cry pierced the air.
Kathy took a lurching step forward, but Rachel subtly raised her hand, stopping her. Any sudden movement might push Michael over the edge—literally.
“I know you love your sister,” Rachel continued, inching closer. “I know you’d never hurt Lily. The real Lily.”
Michael’s face contorted with confusion. “This isn’t—”
“It is,” Rachel interrupted gently but firmly. “Look at her bracelet, Michael. The one on her wrist.”
His gaze dropped momentarily to the beaded bracelet on Lily’s tiny wrist.
“You made that for her,” Rachel pressed, taking another careful step. “For her birthday. Remember? Green beads because it’s her favorite color.”
Something flickered across his face—a moment of clarity cutting through the delusion.
“These voices, Michael, they’re confusing you. Making you see things that aren’t real. But I’m real. Lily is real.” Rachel was close enough now that she could almost touch them. “And you don’t want to hurt her. She needs you, Michael. She needs her big brother to bring her back inside where it’s safe. Let me help you. Let’s bring Lily back in.”
Slowly, she extended her hands toward Lily. “Give her to me and then we’ll figure this out. Together”
Time seemed to stretch as Michael stared at her, the battle behind his eyes visible in the rapid shifting of his expressions. Then, almost imperceptibly, he nodded.
“I’m going to take Lily now.” With infinite care, she reached for the little girl. Michael’s grip loosened further, allowing Rachel to slide her hands under Lily’s arms. As soon as the child was inside, she clung to her desperately as Rachel pulled her away from the window and stumbled back, her heart hammering.
She spun around, her eyes finding Jim, who had remained a silent, steady presence by the doorway, his own face, a mask of controlled tension. She gestured for Jim to come close. Slowly, he moved beside her, gently taking Lily into his arms. Returning her focus to Michael, she kept her voice low, almost a whisper, and dared to face Jim. “Get her and Kathy out of here.” She could see the objection forming in his eyes. “Please.”
As Jim carried the sobbing child to Kathy, he gently urged them toward the door.
“But my boy,” Kathy sobbed, clutching Lily to her chest.
“Is in the best possible hands,” Jim’s voice mirrored the same calm Rachel worked desperately to display. “We need to give Rachel space to help him.”
