"What do you mean, she left you?"
My voice was harsh, clipped, which only made her start to wail even louder. The other nurses at the station had sympathy written all over their faces. They knew how hard it was to be my sister's guardian. My sweet, loving, chemically unbalanced and developmentally disabled sister.
I forced myself to modulate my voice. She did not respond well to criticism. And even if she'd done something off the wall, it wasn't her fault.
I was pretty sure she'd done something to freak Suzie out.
"What happened, Char?"
What I really meant was 'what did you do, Char?' But I couldn't say that. Not unless I wanted her to have a complete meltdown.
This might seem like an epic crisis to a normal person, but trust me, it barely registered. The fact that her new caregiver Suzie had left my sister alone was another matter altogether.
A very, very serious matter.
Basically, heads were going to roll.
"I hate her. She made me take my meds with orange juice. You know I only take them with my Arnold Palmer. She said that was stupid."
I closed my eyes again, praying for patience.
One of my sisters most charmingly frustrating tendencies was to only drink beverages that were named after people. Arnold Palmers. Shirley Temples. Virgin Mary's.
I was hoping she would outgrow this particular tic, but so far, she had not.
"I'll call Mrs. Keeley. Hold tight."
"Don't hang up!"
"I won't love. Now, think carefully. Did you take your pills Char?"
I called Mrs. Keeley, holding a phone to each ear. She was our neighbor and the kindest person I knew. She was also the only other person who Charlotte would listen to. Unfortunately, she was 80 years old and couldn't keep up with Char anymore.
Thus the endless stream of inept caregivers that had been walking through our doors the past few months. I sighed as I finally set the phone down, staying on the line with Char until Mrs. Keeley was in the house. Kelly handed me a cup of coffee. I took it, sipping it gratefully.
At least our hospital had decent coffee.
"She needs to be in assisted living."
I didn't argue with her. I knew it was true. But that was expensive. And I couldn't bear to relegate my sweet, beautiful sister to a state home. God knows what would happen to her there.
"Lexi, you can't keep this up."
I shook my head. I had to. I didn't have a choice. Our parents had died when I was barely into my first year of nursing school. No other family member had been willing to take on my sister.
I couldn't really blame them. Who would take on a teenager, let alone a chemically unbalanced, disabled girl who was nothing but a distant relative?
So even though I was barely six years older than her, I took on the role of parent.
I'd been looking after her since she was born, so it wasn't that big of an adjustment.
What had been a big surprise was the fact that our parents had been up to their eyeballs in debt when they died. All the special doctors, the tutors, the medication. It had all added up over the years to a huge deficit. The only thing left was the house, which wasn't worth much. I would have loved to sell it and move away. But interrupting Char's stability was dangerous.
So we'd stayed and managed to keep the bank from taking the house. They'd taken everything else.
Thank God for student loans and scholarships. Without them I would have never been able to keep the lights on, or finish getting through nursing school.
As it was I would be paying for school for the rest of my natural born life.
Never mind someone to take proper care of my sister.
Something would change for the better eventually.
It had to.
Chapter Two Trent
The first thing I saw was the water sparkling on the surface of the cool blue pool. I blinked. It was a very nice pool.
It just wasn't my pool.
Surprise, surprise, I'd passed out again.
I groaned and rolled over, realizing I was tangled up with another body. I glanced over my shoulder.
Make that three different bodies.
I looked down. I was wearing pants. So whatever I'd done last night, or if I'd fucked anyone, it must have been earlier in the evening. That was good. I hated to fuck sloppy.
It was against my policy. I was a professional. I didn't mix business with pleasure.
Getting massively fucked up being pleasure. Sex was just a job. A fun, pleasurable job, but a job all the same. I groaned, glancing at my watch.
"Fuck."
I sat up abruptly. It was 8 am. Sally would not be happy with me for staying out all night. Neither would Hendrix or Jezebel.
Damn it. I had to get home to my dogs.
I extricated myself from the pile of naked bodies on the enormous bed. There were people passed out everywhere. And there, by the pool... a small group of people doing lines.
Fuck man, George and his cronies were still partying.
He waved as I stepped outside.