The Sun Sister (The Seven Sisters #6) - Lucinda Riley Page 0,131

a spell in long-term rehab is the way forward. She did have a social worker back in Manhattan, though once she turned eighteen a couple months back, technically she’s no longer a juvenile, but I’m going to contact her anyway. In special circumstances, the care team can apply for an extension to maintain the supervision until she’s twenty-one. In basic terms, it means the state would pay for any help she needs.’

‘Hey, I don’t know anything about all that but I just think she needs to feel loved.’

‘You’re right, Electra, she certainly does, and that’s not something you can buy.’

‘I . . . what if I took her back to New York to live with me? I could take care of her.’

There was a pause as Miles turned to look at me, his expression one of shock and disbelief.

‘Are you crazy?! You’re a top model who spends her life flying around the world in private jets! You don’t have the time to give her what she needs. Besides’ – he lowered his voice as Vanessa shifted position – ‘you can’t put someone into that life when they have no hope of keeping it.’

‘You have no idea what I may or may not want to do with my future once I get out of here,’ I hissed back.

‘I . . . Look, let’s talk about this later, okay? This is no fairy tale, Electra, and Vanessa isn’t Cinderella. You can’t mess with her as though she’s a project you can forget about when you’ve lost interest.’

My cup clattered into the saucer as anger rose up in inside me.

‘Jesus, Miles! I’m only trying to help! Anyway,’ I added, trying to control myself, ‘you should know that I’m checking out of The Ranch today.’

‘Oh yeah?’

‘Oh yeah. I’m about as fixed as I can be for now and I’ve got stuff to get on with. A life to lead,’ I said as my hands clutched the coffee cup for some kind of moral support. I stood up and manoeuvred past him. ‘I’m gonna go find the doctor.’

‘Okay,’ Miles sighed. ‘You do what you’ve gotta do.’

‘I will,’ I said, marching to the door.

‘Just one thing before you leave, Electra.’

‘What?’

‘I wouldn’t step outside the front of the hospital right now. There’s a load of paps waiting to catch a glimpse of you.’

Because I was trying to be quiet for Vanessa’s sake, I didn’t even have the pleasure of slamming the door behind me as I walked towards the nurses’ station and asked if I could see the doctor in charge.

The woman made some calls, then nodded. ‘He’s on his rounds just now, honey. He shouldn’t be too long.’

With nowhere else to go, I retreated into the restroom and sat on the tiled floor to seethe. I just couldn’t work Miles out. Last night, I’d felt so close to him; sitting there with my head on his shoulder and his arm around me had felt natural. And now this morning . . . I let out a howl of frustration.

I took some deep breaths to calm down, and tried to get my brain into gear without the purple haze of the initial anger. I eventually realised he was trying to tell me that if I took Vanessa on, she would need all I had to give her, perhaps for a lifetime. She wasn’t like a novelty toy that I could just pick up then drop when I’d finished with it. She was a living, breathing and seriously damaged human being . . . And I was also a living, breathing, damaged human being . . .

‘Miss D’Aplièse?’ came a voice from the other side of the door.

‘Yes?’

‘Do you mind coming out for a quick chat?’

I recognised Dr Cole’s gentle voice.

‘Sure,’ I said, and opened the door to step outside.

‘Hello,’ he smiled at me. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Yeah, I’m fine. How is she?’

‘Vanessa is doing very well. Physically, anyway. She should be out of here in a couple of days and then ideally, depending on what the psych team here and then her social worker say, she’ll need to spend some time in a specialised institution that can really help her.’

‘Do you think Vanessa is . . . well, saveable?’

Dr Cole sighed. ‘Where there’s life, there’s always hope. I’m sure you’ve been made aware that every addict is somewhere on a spectrum. Some are lucky and get caught early on, and others, like Vanessa, are right at the end and are hardest of all to turn around. The good