Despite his tears, Lisa knew guilt was her father’s primary source of motivation. It would fade over time. His promises were worthless. If she made the mistake of trusting him, he would forget what he had done to her. She wanted him to be as hurt as she was; it was the only way to make him understand.
“Lisa, please,” he said. “Give me a chance. Let me prove myself to you. I can’t even imagine what you must be going through because of me, but it doesn’t have to be this way. I’m not going to give up on you. You’re my daughter.”
Lisa shook her head. He would never know who she truly was, or how she really felt. Her throat was so raw from crying that she could barely speak, but she wanted to set one thing straight once and for all.
“Your daughter is dead,” she said, and without any hesitation, she raised herself up so she could fall. Richard lunged forward and grabbed her. She struggled to free herself, and they both tumbled to the ground. Lisa’s breath was knocked out of her. She struck him until he captured her wrists in his hands, and then she heard herself screaming at him in a hoarse voice, begging him to let her go. He hung on, and when she was too exhausted to fight him anymore, she gave up in despair.
Richard picked her up and carried her to his truck, which was parked nearby. He got her settled, and her father sat down beside her, draping his jacket over her shoulders to stop her from shivering. Lisa gazed ahead with unseeing eyes. It would have been a relief to die, but now the opportunity was gone, and she couldn’t organize her thoughts sufficiently to come up with an alternative plan.
Richard drove to the hotel where Lisa’s father was staying, and they went inside. Her father asked her what had happened, but Lisa refused to say a word. She wasn’t brave enough to relive the nightmare. Her father eventually became desperate, but Richard told him to stop.
“We don’t want her to get into the habit of talking about it,” he said. “She’s too upset right now anyway. Just leave her alone. She’s probably been up all night, and she’s obviously traumatized. She’ll feel better after she gets some sleep.”
“But I’m just failing her again,” said her father with a groan. “If I had any redeeming qualities, I would take her straight to the hospital for a forensic examination. I’m pretty sure Graham wouldn’t have hurt her, at least not on purpose, but I don’t know who else had access to her or what they did to her. Even if she doesn’t want to tell us about it, the evidence to convict them is probably right here in front of us.”
“She doesn’t seem to be injured, except a few scrapes and bruises,” said Richard. “As for the evidence, it’s none of our business. Besides, you know why we can’t go to the police, so don’t even consider it. Graham would be delighted to ruin your family once and for all if you gave him the slightest excuse, and you owe it to your daughter to prevent that from happening.”
Lisa’s father nodded.
“I know,” he said. “I feel like I can’t win, but I have to start prioritizing Lisa, and that means challenging her mother on the terms of the divorce. I’ll do whatever it takes to show Lisa how much I care about her. I don’t know how she’s going to cope with all of this. She should be in therapy. If she isn’t able to put this situation into perspective, she’s going to be messed up for the rest of her life.”
Lisa sat on the edge of the bed and listened to their conversation. She recognized the irony in her father’s claim that he wanted to protect her when he was obviously protecting himself, but she didn’t want to go to the hospital to be poked and prodded by strangers, so she didn’t say anything. The thought of accidentally revealing the truth terrified her, and she was relieved when Richard refused to humor her father.
“Andrew, we’ve already been over this,” he said. “Peterson or not, Lisa can never tell anyone what happened.” He knelt down in front of her so she had to look at him, even though she was staring at the floor. “You understand, don’t you? For your safety, and for the sake of your family, you need to keep quiet. You’ve already suffered more than enough. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
Lisa nodded, but she suspected he was merely trying to keep Graham out of trouble. He had done too many suspicious things. She misinterpreted his gloomy expression as an admission of guilt, but she was too worn out to analyze his behavior further. Even if Sophie hadn’t threatened her, she would have been so terrified of Richard that she wouldn’t have dared to speak up.
Her father took out his prescription pad, wrote a few things, and tore off the pages. Then, he gave Lisa a towel, a washcloth, and one of his shirts. He told her to go into the bathroom and change out of her dress.
“I’m going to the pharmacy to get you some medicine, but I’ll be back soon,” he said. “Richard will be here if you need anything.”
He hurried away. Lisa went into the bathroom and locked the door. Moving slowly because she was so sore, she took off her dress. Bruises were already appearing on her arms where Sophie had grabbed her, and her scalp ached from Sophie pulling her hair. She turned on the shower and stepped under the hot water, but she couldn’t get warm even when her skin turned red from the heat.
She stood there for a long time until the smell of the trailer had been washed away. She could still taste the stench of Sophie’s flavored tobacco in the back of her throat, and it made her feel sick, but she couldn’t get rid of it. Finally, when she heard her father return, she got dressed and left the bathroom. Her father gave her a handful of pills, and she swallowed them without bothering to ask him what they were for. Then, he pulled back the comforter and she crawled into bed.
Before long, her eyelids began to feel heavy. She realized her father had given her something to make her sleepy. Closing her eyes, she began to drift away. In the darkness, she heard her father’s voice.
“Nora,” he said. “I wanted to let you know Lisa is with me. We’re going to spend the day together. Also, I’ve changed my mind about giving up my parental rights. I don’t want the girls to feel like I’ve abandoned them.”
His voice droned on, but Lisa was too drowsy to listen to him anymore. She yielded to the effects of the sedative he had given her, and gradually lost consciousness. Her last thought was that she hoped she would never wake up.
∞∞∞
Lisa stayed at the hotel for what seemed like an eternity. She spent her time huddled on the bed, counting the bumps on the ceiling or staring at the wall. She had horrible dreams whenever she slept, and sometimes when she awoke, she thought she was back in the trailer. Molly’s dead face never left her memory.
The pills kept her in a state of delirium and prevented her from thinking about what had happened, except in horrifying images that flashed intermittently into her mind. She couldn’t even begin to process her thoughts. Each time she started to come back to reality, her father gave her more sedatives.
Her mother visited her several times, and she sometimes noticed her parents sitting at the little table in the corner of the room, talking together quietly. Eventually, she gathered that they had agreed to postpone their divorce indefinitely, due to her mental deterioration. They were still going to separate, but it wouldn’t be official.
When she was finally allowed to return to her senses, she found herself in a different world. There was no more color and no more beauty; everything was dull and wearisome. She hadn’t spoken to anyone since her declaration of defiance to her father on the bridge. She no longer wanted to destroy herself, but that was only because she felt so helpless that she didn’t think it was an option anymore. Her only strategy was to exist with as little effort as possible.
Her parents seemed to think she would recover quicker in a familiar environment, so her mother took her home at the end of the week. As they drove along the beach, Lisa looked out the window and saw Molly’s house. The garden gnomes waited with cheerful faces, but Lisa knew Molly would never return. She felt like she should cry for her, but her eyes remained stubbornly dry.
When they arrived at the house, Lisa’s mother guided her
up the steps and into her room. To Lisa’s surprise, her cell phone was lying on the bed. As she picked it up, her mother paused in the doorway.
“Josh apparently found your cell phone in the hospital lobby,” she said. “He brought it back the morning after you talked to your father. He’s been asking about you, and since I knew you were coming home today, I invited him to visit this afternoon. It will be good for you to see him again.”
She closed the door and left Lisa alone. Lisa looked at her cell phone. Josh had called her several times since her abduction. She didn’t bother to listen to any of his messages. She didn’t hold him responsible for what had happened to her, but there was nothing he could say that could make her feel better. She knew she needed to tell him goodbye, but she didn’t want to crush him.
When Josh arrived, Lisa went into the living room, feeling like an imposter. She just wanted to get the interaction over with as quickly as possible. Josh had brought her a large bouquet of roses, and although he smiled at her, she knew he wasn’t as ignorant as he was pretending to be. She was grateful he didn’t reach out to hug her. Ever since the ordeal, she hadn’t wanted anyone to touch her.
“Lisa, it’s wonderful to see you again,” said Josh. “I’ve missed you terribly. Should we go for a walk? It’s a beautiful day. Maybe we could spend the afternoon together on the beach.”
“No, I don’t want to go outside,” said Lisa. She couldn’t bear to see Molly’s house, even from a distance. Holding the bouquet, she sat down on the couch, hoping Josh wouldn’t sit down beside her. He looked like he didn’t know what to do with himself. His smile faded, and a hint of remorse appeared in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Lisa,” he said. “Maybe if I hadn’t asked you to come with me to the hospital—”
“It’s not your fault,” said Lisa.
“I hope you didn’t mind me calling you so many times over the past week,” he said. “I wanted you to know I was thinking about you, but I really shouldn’t have pestered you so much. This might be a stupid question, but how are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” said Lisa. “How is your family?”
“Everyone is doing well,” said Josh. “Richard apologized to my dad. I don’t know what he said because I wasn’t actually there when they talked, but he must have made a convincing argument. My dad forgave him and told him he could stay. It’s still in the early stages, but it looks like it might actually work out.”
Lisa thought Josh should have known better than to bring up the subject of Richard, even though it was perfectly natural. She made a mental note that if she continued to see Josh in any capacity, she would have to interact with Richard, a possibility she didn’t want to consider.
“Is your mother feeling better?” she said.
“Much better,” said Josh, brightening visibly. “She got discharged from the hospital a few days ago. She’s still on antibiotics, but she’s not in danger anymore. Apparently, she’ll be more likely to get infections as long as she’s on chemotherapy. She’s been asking me about you, but I told her we didn’t have any plans to visit.”
Lisa couldn’t imagine being interrogated by Josh’s mother in her current state. It had been hard enough to know what to say before, but now she felt like a fraud. Josh’s mother would see straight through her. It would all be over in a moment.
“I don’t want to visit her anymore,” she said. “I lost the necklace she gave me. I took it off, and now it’s gone forever.”
Josh sat down. Lisa sensed he was struggling with himself. As the silence stretched between them, she turned her attention to the flowers, acutely aware that the last time there had been such a decoration in the house, it had been because of a funeral. Josh finally took a deep breath, as if he had arrived at a decision.
“Lisa, I can’t carry on this charade,” he said. “I know what happened to you, at least a little. It’s none of my business, but I don’t agree with your dad and Richard. You shouldn’t have to hide the truth. I’m here to support you. I don’t know what to say, but I’m happy to listen, or if you aren’t comfortable talking to me about it, I can find someone who can help you.”
“I don’t need help,” said Lisa.
“You don’t have to be scared,” said Josh. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you. I’ll support you no matter what you decide to do, but I think we should tell someone. We can do it right now. All we have to do is get into the car and go to the police station. We’ll tell them everything we know—together.”
“No,” said Lisa. She observed the confusion on his face, but he didn’t demand an explanation, and she didn’t offer one. She felt too worn out to deal with him anymore. She stood up so he would know he was supposed to leave. “Thank you for coming to see me, and thank you for the flowers, but I can’t do this right now.”
“Okay,” said Josh. He got up slowly, looking like he wanted to stay. “When you’re ready, I’ll be here. I just wish I could make everything better. I love you so much, Lisa.”
Lisa didn’t reply. She couldn’t lie to him, but she didn’t love him anymore. Nothing about him had changed; she still admired him and recognized in him all the things that had charmed her, but her heart was empty. Josh hesitated for a moment, and then he left. Lisa went into the kitchen and threw the flowers away.
She returned to her room and crawled into bed. When morning came, she told her mother she wasn’t going back to school. She couldn’t face Josh again. He knew too much. It was only a matter of time before he got the truth out of her, and when he did, they would both be ruined. Besides, Graham’s boss had plans for him and his family. She wanted to warn him, but she didn’t know how. She started ignoring him more and more, and when he finally graduated, she wasn’t there.
The school year ended. Lisa received a list of incomplete grades on her report card. Her mother talked about sending her to summer school, but she refused to leave her room. She waited for her father to intervene until she learned he had accepted a new job up north. Lisa wasn’t surprised when he left without saying goodbye. He hadn’t visited her since she had returned home.
She sometimes wondered if Molly’s body would be discovered, but her mother told her Graham and Molly had moved away. Graham had covered his tracks carefully enough to avoid any unexpected trouble. He would never be brought to justice unless someone revealed what he had done. Lisa couldn’t stop thinking about Molly. She felt like she had failed her, and she became more miserable with each passing day.
Veronica sometimes tried to cheer her up, but Lisa didn’t want to have anything to do with her. Veronica’s happiness about the cancelled divorce filled her with resentment. After all, it was Veronica’s fault she had talked to her father.
Josh’s mother slowly recovered. When Lisa learned her cancer had finally gone into remission, she felt indifferent. Josh and his family left Silvertree soon thereafter, but Lisa didn’t bother to say goodbye to him. She told herself he would forget about her, but she had the strange feeling he wasn’t going to disappear from her life so easily. In a way, she hoped her intuition was correct, but only time would tell. Until then, she would just have to wait.
To be continued…
Dear Reader
Thank you for letting me share this book with you!
I hope you enjoyed every moment of it. I would be delighted to keep you updated on my progress as I write the conclusion to Lisa and Josh’s story in Book Two of the Silvertree Series. You can sign up for my email list by going to my website, www.mariandribus.com.
I invite you to email me at [email protected] with any comments or questions! Also, I encourage you to leave an honest review on Amazon. Your feedback is invaluable to me as an author.
Website: www.mariandribus.com
Email: [email protected]
About Me
I’m from Louisiana, and I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember! I worked as a registered nurse for almost three years before returning to school. In my free time, I enjoy g
ardening, cooking, and spending time with my pets.
The Patient from Silvertree is my first book.
The Patient from Silvertree: Book One in the Silvertree Series Page 27