Page 65 of Every Thought Taken

I want to scream. I want to slap some damn sense into this woman. How fucking stupid can she be? But before I get a word out, Dad pipes up.

“No, son. We were waiting for you to wake up before calling your sister.”

Relief washes over me, a weight lifting from my chest. “Don’t call her.”

Now it’s Dad’s turn to look confused. “Of course, we’re letting her know. You’re her family.”

I growl as the heart monitor beeps louder, faster. “No,” I bark out, my throat screaming at me in response. “I don’t want her to know. I don’t want anyone to know.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Everett, Anderson needs to rest. I advise you to go home, have a shower, a hot meal, and a good night’s rest.”

Thank goodness. Someone else is finally on my side.

“And if Anderson would prefer to keep what happened between the people in this room, that is a choice we should all respect.”

Mom looks at the doctor as if she is a bug to step on, but she keeps her irritation to herself. Dad, on the other hand, takes the doctor’s orders more to heart. He stares down at me in the bed and gives a nod.

“C’mon, Joan. Let’s go home. Anderson is in good hands.” He leans over the bed and presses a kiss to my forehead. “Love you, son,” he chokes out. “Glad you’re okay.”

Okay isn’t the word I’d use.

Mom kisses my cheek before taking Dad’s hand. “We’ll be back in the morning,” she promises. Then she and Dad exit the room, Dr. Wexford behind them.

Jerome picks up the tablet at the foot of the bed and taps on the screen as he checks numbers on the monitor.

“Can I ask a favor?”

He looks up from the screen and meets my gaze. “Of course, Anderson.”

I swallow past the building lump in my throat. “Is it possible to not have them here?” I nod toward the door. “It’s better if they’re not.”

A sad smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. “We can ask Dr. Wexford.”

“Thank you.”

I close my eyes and let everything that has happened hit me all at once. The backs of my eyes sting, emotion clogging my throat as I choke on tears. Pain ripples through my chest, widening the void in my heart. For a blip in time, I experienced peace. Stillness. A world without worry or shame or expectations.

For a moment, I was free.

A hand rests on my shoulder and my eyes jerk open. With a tilt of her head and a soft purse of her lips, Dr. Wexford nods in silent permission. Gifting me the chance to release every shard and splinter piercing my insides. In this place, I can expose my scars and perceptions without consequence.

“We’ve got you, Anderson.” Her thumb strokes my shoulder once. “Let it all go. We’ll catch you.”

And for the first time, I shed every ounce of hurt. Discharge every wound darkening my heart. I rip myself wide open.

PARTTWO

PRESENT

CHAPTER38

HELENA

He’s here. He’s home.

After years of not seeing him, I wondered if this day would come. When I hadn’t heard from Anderson for months that stretched into years, I assumed he had forgotten me and moved on. And when I’d come home during summer break from college and he was nowhere in sight, the true loss of him was a knife to the heart.

Almost five years ago, I returned to Lake Lavender. Fresh from college, I was ready to conquer the world. The clothing shop I’d briefly worked at in high school became my second home. It took a few months of rigorous studies for me to decide on a major in college. Washington State didn’t offer a program specifically geared toward fashion, so I opted to major in business management and minor in marketing. Regardless of my future, both would help.

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