Ransomed Dreams by Sally John

Author:Sally John
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Published: 2010-07-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 37

Seated beside her father’s hospital bed, well into her third acrylic nail, Calissa chewed, gnawed, and picked away.

It was an idiotic way to sublimate, to trade an emotional pain for a physical one. Stopping the behavior didn’t seem to be an option, however.

She watched her father breathe, or rather she watched the machine breathe for him, cajoling him onward and upward. Hang in there. I might let you off the hook yet. Sheridan might show up yet. I doubt, I seriously doubt, she’ll let you off the hook, but showing up will be something at least. You know?

Sheridan. She had it worse. They’d all wanted to protect her. Calissa, Ysabel, even Harrison. But now, learning what they’d kept from her, it wouldn’t sound like concern. It must sound like betrayal. From their mother, too, with her suicide.

Maybe it wasn’t suicide. Maybe that was only Harrison talking out of another side of his mouth, getting in one last cruel joke on his wife.

Helena said he loved Ysabel. He sure had a funny way of showing it.

On a scale of one to ten with ten being Little House on the Prairie, Calissa rated her childhood as a seven. Everybody’s parents argued, at times loudly, right? Every parent kept secrets, especially about the past. Her parents and several others she knew disguised their love as buying everything the kids needed and keeping the peace when necessary, say at piano recitals. Some parents, like Harrison and Ysabel, added one last note: they continued to live together. Increasingly frequent times apart notwithstanding, they kept up that facade.

Face it, she thought. Childhood trauma was a given. So she should just get over it. Even if it crept into her life when she was forty-seven years old. Right?

Calissa heard movement at the doorway and turned.

Sheridan entered, a Styrofoam container in her hand. “Fries.” She gave it to her and sat next to her in the other chair. “Garlic.”

“No way.” The distinct aroma floated out as she opened the lid. “Oh, yes way. Thank you. This beats fingernails.”

Sheridan touched Calissa’s left ring finger with its bloody nub of natural nail. “Ouch.”

“You get used to it.” Calissa ate, stealing glances at her sister gazing at Harrison.

Something had changed, something intangible but real. First off, Sheridan gazed rather than glowered. And she was calm, but not like a stoic. What had happened? She’d left an hour ago, pale, eyes swollen, arm entwined through Luke’s. Calissa didn’t think it was the garlic fries. Had she opened a can of worms by forcing her sister and Luke together?

She popped another fry into her mouth. She really didn’t need to take on one more load of big-sister guilt. Who knew? Maybe Sher and Luke had been in touch all along. Maybe Luke didn’t have to use his super-duper spy powers to track her down.

Sheridan said, “Liss, do you remember that mean kid who lived down the street when we were young?”

“Mean kid? Oh yeah. Ty ‘roly-poly’ Foley.”

Sheridan smiled.

“I still owe him one,” Calissa said.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.