Chapter 2

There was no telling how much time had passed.

The door to the ward opened.

The nurse cried out.

"What are you doing to her?"

"Doctor, Doctor—"

She didn't care who Amos Harris or Yvonne Henson were. She pushed them off me with her own hands.

Then she came to check on me.

When she saw I was in too much pain to even make a sound, her anger sharpened.

"This patient has a cracked rib. Are you trying to kill her?"

Amos stepped back and steadied Yvonne.

He hadn't heard a word the nurse said.

"Susie, Lily isn't having fun here."

"Go and check yourself out right now."

"Once we're home, once Lily's had her fun, then you can get engaged to me again."

The nurse looked at him like he was insane.

"Amos."

I called after him, quietly.

My voice was as soft as it had always been.

"Whether she's happy has nothing to do with me."

"I'm hurt. And even if I weren't, I'm not getting down on the floor for her to ride again."

"You used to let her ride you like a horse. Why not now?"

So he was bringing up the past, too.

When my sister was diagnosed with autism, everything at home changed.

Mom said,

"Your sister isn't like normal children. You have to give in to her."

"She only took a few of your things. You're her big sister."

"Whatever your sister wants, you give it to her—"

She wanted to ride a horse.

So Mom and Dad pinned me down on the floor.

My knees, my arms, scraped raw against the ground over and over.

If I resisted even a little, she'd shriek that she wasn't happy.

And Dad would grab hold of me.

He'd let her claw and take it out on my body.

Amos came to my school and walked in on it many times.

He never made Yvonne leave right away. He stayed and coaxed her instead.

"Be good, Lily. Big brother will give you candy. Just don't make your sister be your horse, okay?"

He'd help me settle her down.

After that, she spent every day waiting for him to come.

That memory, of being treated like I wasn't a person, I'd buried it deep.

Now it was awake again.

"She's your sister. She just wants to play a little. Can't you stop being so precious about it?"

Yvonne was still cheering off to the side.

"Horsey, ride the horsey."

"Horsey."

She called out, and reached again to yank my hair.

I twisted around and pulled her long hair, hard.

For the first time she felt pain. She let go at once, clutching her head and wailing.

"Bad person, my hair hurts."

I looked at Amos, cold light in my eyes.

"Yes, I'm being precious. If you're not, then you get down and be her horse."

Amos glared at me and reached out to stroke Yvonne's head.

"Your sister's bad. She's a bad sister."

"Big brother will take you out to ride a real horse."

The ward finally went quiet.

The doctor examined me.

The crack had gotten worse.

The next time it took any pressure, it could easily become a full fracture.

I closed my eyes, wanting to rest.

But the company's management called me one after another.

"Ms. Black, the president says he's taking leave. He wants you to come in and hand off the work."

"Ms. Black, get to the office quickly. Don't hold up the handover."

"Ms. Black, the West End project is about to start. You need to hurry—"

Mom and Dad sat in the conference room.

Fussing gently over Yvonne.

"We'll leave in a day or two. You want to go to Miami? We'll go and have all the fun you want."

Amos said with a smile,

"A friend of mine has a stable there. I can take you to ride the ponies."

So they'd hounded me out of the hospital like it was life or death.

All of it just to go on a trip.

"Mom, Dad, I'm hurt."

"Can't you put off the trip a little and let me recover?"