Daniel was leaning against the pillows. He looked pale and exhausted, with an IV drip attached to the back of his hand. But he was alive. Awake. He was looking straight into my eyes.
Relief washed over me. I brought my hand to my mouth and tears streamed down my face before I could stop them.
“Thank God,” I murmured.
“Hey. Hey, Claire, I’m fine.” He gave me a weak, guilty smile. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”
I approached him on trembling legs.
Then my husband raised his hand and rubbed the back of his neck, as he always did before making a confession.
“There’s something I need to explain to you,” Daniel began.
I scrutinized his expression.
My voice was much weaker than I would have liked.
“What is it, Daniel? What are you hiding from me?”
He opened his mouth to reply, but he didn’t get the chance. The door behind me suddenly opened and slammed against the wall.
A woman rushed inside, breathless, her eyes fixed on my husband. She ran straight towards him.
She didn’t notice me.
As soon as she appeared in the light, I died.
Megan, Daniel’s younger sister!
She rushed to his bedside and took his hands.
“Are you okay?! Daniel, tell me you’re alright!”
Her voice broke with every word.
My knees nearly buckled. Megan was the one who had cut ties with the entire family almost four years ago and had never come back. I hadn’t seen her since a Christmas that ended in an argument and a slamming door.
“Megan?” I said.
She froze. Her shoulders stiffened. Then she turned slowly, as if she had hoped I wouldn’t be there.
” Clear ?”
My name alone. Nothing else.
I looked at Daniel. He wasn’t looking at me.
“Someone needs to tell me what’s going on,” I said. “Right away!”
“Claire, I can explain,” my husband began.
“How long?” My own voice sounded foreign. “How long have you been lying to me?”
“I wasn’t lying. I…”
“The phone calls. The key ring. The hospital, on the other side of town.” I listed the points one by one, my fingers trembling. “You told me you were going to your parents’ house, Daniel. You weren’t going, were you?”
Megan took a step towards me.
“Claire, listen to me…”
“I’m not talking to you anymore!” The words came out harder than I intended. “I don’t even recognize you anymore.”
My sister-in-law recoiled, as if those words had hit her like a ton of bricks.
Daniel sat up on the pillows.
“Honey, sit down. Please. They say it’s stress. That’s all. They want to keep me under observation overnight.”
“I can’t do that here.”
I grabbed my bag and headed towards the door.
My chest felt so tight that I could hardly breathe. Whatever was happening, I needed fresh air, I needed my children, I needed anything but this room.
But Megan reached the door before me. She stopped right in front of it.
“Move,” I said.
“Claire, please.”
“Megan, move!”
My sister-in-law looked at Daniel over my shoulder. Her gaze was long and searching. He closed his eyes for a moment, then barely nodded. His jaw tightened. She took a deep breath, as if she were about to throw herself into the void.
“Daniel collapsed in the clinic parking lot. Right after he dropped me off. Someone called an ambulance when they found him.” “I heard people talking about the guy who had fainted, and when I realized it was him, I rushed over,” Megan explained.
Her words fell like a stone into water. Everything seemed to stop. I stared at her.
” What ? ”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“He’s helping me detox.”
I shook my head, because nothing she was saying matched the story I had imagined.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“There’s a rehab center about ten minutes from here.” Megan’s voice broke. “He’s been taking me there once a week for almost six months. It’s an outpatient program. He’s helping me pay for it, Claire, because I begged him not to tell anyone. Especially not Mom and Dad.”
Of course. That explained why money was so scarce last spring, why Daniel ignored me when I talked to him about the credit card.
d. I had assumed that his bonus had simply been delayed.
