“If?”
Eve’s voice rose, and Lily’s eyes snapped open. His question echoed in her brain. Did he doubt her? Could he possibly think that she’d stayed away on purpose? That she’d had a choice in the matter? Maybe he knew Rick. Maybe he was in on it all along.
Lily stared at Sky. The pressure to keep her child safe was all-consuming.
Don’t be weak, she told herself, but an uneasiness she couldn’t shake was working its way through her bones. She was still studying Sky when the front door opened. Lily knew instantly that Abby was here. Lily turned and saw Abby standing in the entryway. The sight of her sister, alive and safe, was almost too much to bear.
“I knew it, I fucking knew it,” Abby said.
Lily wanted to remember this moment. She wanted to replay it over and over again when the dark times with Rick came rushing back. If she had seen Abby before she sensed her presence, she might not have recognized her. Abby’s features were heavier. She was carrying a good twenty pounds on her tiny frame. Her hair, which she’d always worn long, just like Lily’s, was cut short in a bob, a deep vibrant red replacing her golden-blond locks. But her eyes were unmistakable. Green with flecks of gold. The same eyes that comforted Lily in her dreams each night for eight years.
Lily stood and slowly moved toward Abby, trying not to make a spectacle of herself. But Abby had apparently made no such promises. She let out a joyous yell or a wail, or a mixture of both, and catapulted herself across the room. They came together, clutching each other. In an instant, 3,110 days vanished. In the years following her abduction, after all those months spent with Rick teaching her “appropriate behavior,” Lily had been convinced that she would never love the way she’d loved before. She became convinced that even her daughter would be shortchanged. That Rick had stolen that ability to feel real, genuine emotions. But holding on to Abby, Lily realized that in spite of all his efforts, he could never break their bond. Her twin was always with her. Always. This was unbreakable.
Lily cried loudly, her sobs matching Abby’s.
“I told them, Lilypad,” Abby said. “I told them you weren’t dead. All these years. All these years, I knew it.”
Was that what saved me? Lily wondered. Maybe Abby’s fire kept me alive. Abby pulled away, stroking Lily’s hair. “You’re so pretty, Lilypad. Your face and your gorgeous hair.”
Lily flinched. She hated her hair. She’d begged Rick to cut it, but he refused. He’d spent hours stroking it, braiding it, running his fingers through her long blond locks.
“It’s your triumph, Lily. Your shining glory,” he always said.
A worried expression flickered across Abby’s face, and Lily realized she’d gotten lost, that she’d let him in. She forced herself to shut him out. He wouldn’t ruin this moment. He wouldn’t steal another second from her. What she wanted was to see Abby smile.
“Abs, you’re gorgeous too.”
“You’re a shitty liar, Lilypad. You always have been.”
Lily smiled, her gaze dropping to Abby’s protruding belly, and in that instant, Lily realized that Abby wasn’t fat. She was quite obviously pregnant.
“You’re having a baby?” Lily said, touching Abby’s stomach.
Abby cringed, and this time she was the one who pulled away. A million questions zipped through Lily’s brain. Who’s the father? Why are you not happy about this baby? What have I missed?
But Abby changed the subject.
“It’s okay, Lilypad. It’s okay. We have time to catch up. This is enough. You and me right here is enough,” Abby said.
Lily hugged her sister again, needing physical proof of her existence, physical proof that she could experience human touch. That she loathed only his touch. Abby began to rub Lily’s back, slowly in circles. This was confirmation for Lily. He hadn’t destroyed her. She hadn’t let him.
“It’s okay, Sissybear. It’s all going to be okay.”
For some people, after experiencing what Lily had experienced, the idea that anything would ever be okay was impossible. But when Abby said it, hope bubbled up.
Their reunion could have gone on forever, but Lily became aware of the silence that had descended over the room. She was always in tune to moods and shifts in behavior. She’d had to be. The sheriff hovered nearby, impatiently waiting. Mom stepped forward.
“Girls, I’m sorry, but Sheriff Rogers has questions.”
Obviously annoyed, Abby glared at their mother. “Jesus, can we have a goddamn minute?”
Lily was caught off guard by Abby’s harsh tone, but Mom didn’t appear to register it. Abby had always gotten a kick out of upsetting their mother with mumbled profanities. She apparently didn’t mumble them anymore.