Between the Lives - By Jessica Shirvington Page 0,72

she and Davis had taken it upon themselves to fix that little problem. Since Mom and Dad didn’t know about their break-and-enter, they also hadn’t known to relock the bolt.

We both slid into my room, clanking into things and being too loud. Thankfully no one seemed to stir.

‘Stay here,’ I whispered to Capri. ‘I’ll be back in a minute. If anyone comes in, make a run for it.’

She nodded. Capri was a pro at these things. She wouldn’t hesitate to split if needs be.

I crept down the stairs and into the kitchen, avoiding the creak-spots in the flooring. The house seemed so foreign to me now. It was weird – such a short time away to feel like I didn’t belong here anymore. Had I ever? I bit my lip and squashed the smouldering thought.

It took me a while, but after carefully looking through a few drawers I eventually hit the jackpot when I spied Dad’s coat hanging over one of the kitchen chairs. I grabbed the keys to the store, palming them to stop the jingle, and headed back to my bedroom.

Running into Maddie had not been part of the plan. But as I passed her room, her bedroom door swung open and she looked up at me, half asleep. ‘Binie, you’re home. I missed you so much.’ She rubbed her eyes. ‘Can you take me to the bathroom?’

My insides melted just seeing her, and before I knew what I was doing I’d picked her up to hug her tight and was carrying her to the bathroom. On the way back, she rested her head on my shoulder. ‘Are you going away, Binie?’ she asked.

I took her into her room and gently placed her on the bed. ‘What makes you say that, kiddo?’

She shrugged sleepily. ‘I had a dream that you had to go somewhere else. You were so sad. You didn’t want to say goodbye to me, but you had to.’

Oh god. Was this happening? ‘Hey, you know how much I love you. It doesn’t matter what happens, I’ll always be with you, even if … even if I can’t really be here. Do you know what I mean?’

‘I think so.’ She yawned.

I brushed the hair off her face and she snuggled into her blankets. ‘Life is precious, Maddie. Always remember that.’ The irony of choosing Ethan’s sentiment in that moment wasn’t lost on me. I hated him a little for that.

‘You’re not the same as everyone else, Binie. I love you always. Do you still have my rabbits?’

I bit back my tears and nodded. ‘Of course I have your rabbits.’ I pointed to my cast. ‘They will always be with me, just like you. I love you too, Mads. Don’t tell anyone you saw me, okay?’

She nodded, already falling back to sleep. She’d probably think it was all a dream in the morning. Maybe it was for the best. I kissed her on her forehead.

Capri had waited for me, even though she’d heard Maddie moving around. She wasn’t happy about being kept in the dark, but still drove me to my next destination and waited outside while I let myself into Mom and Dad’s store and collected the items I needed. It would be a terrible cocktail – one that had no chance of failing. Given Macie had launched a random room search on me today, I figured I’d have just enough time to keep the drugs hidden before …

Capri drove me back to my house. I snuck in alone, returned the keys and wrote a quick note, which I slipped under my mattress. They would find it one day. When we pulled into the clinic parking lot, Capri didn’t hold back, demanding some answers.

‘It’s complicated,’ I said, which didn’t seem to help. But I’d given it some thought since we’d talked on the phone and decided it wouldn’t help her to know everything – she’d only feel worse at the end, or try to stop me. The best thing I could do for Capri was to let her stay ignorant.

‘Look.’ I sighed, knowing I needed to give her something. ‘Mom and Dad found out I was seeing that guy and thought he was a bad influence. Dad just flipped.’ I leaned back into the headrest, convincingly spinning my web. ‘He used his medical contacts and fed them this whole story about me being insane to get me locked up in here, just to keep me away from him.’ Capri’s mouth was hanging open and I knew