Page 83 of Isolated
It took some time, but Iris finally calmed down. She’d spilled enough tears to fill a small pond, though, so I was fully prepared to get to the bottom of what happened and fix it.
With one hand still in her hair, and the other arm draped over her legs, I stroked my thumb lightly against her thigh. “Tell me what happened today, sunshine.”
Her forehead was pressed firmly against the side of my neck. “I’m sorry. I?—”
“No apologies. You never apologize for needing me. Okay? I’m here for you whenever you need me. You got it?”
She nodded against me.
“Good. Now, just tell me what happened.”
Iris released a long, slow breath. “It’s been building and building, and it’s become too much. I can’t pretend any longer that everything is going to be fine. Because it’s not. It’s all falling apart.”
“What does that mean? What’s falling apart?”
“Everything. All my friendships. My relationships.”
My brows drew together, my fingers still stroking her scalp. “Which ones, specifically? I want to help you, sunshine, so you’ve got to give me details.”
“Work ones, especially with my friends, Steph and Kasey.” Her fingertips began stroking absentmindedly against my chest. “Then there’s my sister, Eleni, and even Walter.”
I blinked in surprise. “Walter? What happened with him?”
“I think he’s upset with me. Everybody is upset with me. But except for work, which is still partly a mystery, I have no idea why everyone is mad at me.”
Tugging lightly on her hair, I urged her head back so she could look at me. “I’m not mad at you. Not at all.”
“It’s like you’re the only person I have left.”
This made no sense. “Alright. Well, I’m not going anywhere, so you don’t have to worry. Let’s take this one thing at a time. Why do you think Walter is mad at you?”
“Ever since you came over last Wednesday to have dinner with me, he’s not been the same. Actually, it was probably a few days before that when I noticed he startedkeeping his distance. But when I saw him the day we had lasagna together, he told me he’d been working on some housecleaning projects. I didn’t think twice about it, but when I stopped over the next day to give him some of the leftover lasagna, he didn’t come to the door.”
“Maybe he wasn’t home.”
“His truck was in the driveway.”
“Could he have been in the shower or out with someone?”
Iris shrugged. “It’s possible. But I saw him outside a day later, and the moment I walked out, he rushed inside. I tried not to think too much about it and still went over to see him, but he wouldn’t answer the door.”
I wasn’t sure what I could say to explain this or to make her feel better. “You did say he was a grouchy old man. Maybe he’s just got something on his mind.”
“Walter is grouchy, but he’s never taken it out on me. He’s never been downright mean.”
Sighing, I said, “Tell me what’s going on with your sister.”
She groaned, nothing but frustration in the sound. “Eleni stopped talking to me the weekend she and Flora came out to visit.”
“What?”
Iris pulled her face back from my chest to look at me and said, “I have no idea why. We came home from the pub the night you were there. She refused to talk to me that night, and the next morning, she just left. I’ve been calling her almost every day since then, and she won’t answer any of my calls.”
Suddenly, I saw a link between these two scenarios—me. Both Walter and Eleni pulled away from Iris when Ientered the picture. As much as I didn’t want to, I had to throw it out there.
“Do you think your sister was upset with you because I showed up and monopolized your time that night?”
She shook her head. “No. She was already in a mood when we were out to dinner. Technically, Eleni hasn’t been herself since I moved out here. About six months ago, things became even more strained between us. And over the last two or three months, she’s been particularly miserable toward me. I don’t know why.”
