Blindsighted (Grant County #1) - Karin Slaughter Page 0,53

it?” Lena laughed. “How could I not accept it? They lived together. They took vacations together.” She remembered Gordon’s earlier comment. “Evidently the whole fucking college knew about it,” she said. “It’s not like I had a choice.”

Hank sat back with a sigh. “I don’t know, baby. Were you jealous of her?”

Lena cocked her head. “Of who?”

“Nan.”

She laughed. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you say.” She added, “And we both know I’ve heard you say some really stupid shit.”

Hank shrugged. “You had Sibby to yourself for a long time. I can see where her meeting somebody, getting involved with someone, might make it difficult for her to be there for you.”

Lena felt her mouth open in shock. The fight she was hoping for seconds ago was now blowing up in her face. “You think I was jealous of Nan Thomas because she was fucking my sister?”

He flinched at her words. “You think that’s all they were about?”

“I don’t know what they were about, Hank,” Lena said. “We didn’t talk about that part of her life, okay?”

“I know that.”

“Then why did you bring it up?”

He did not answer. “You’re not the only one who lost her.”

“When did you hear me say that I was?” Lena snapped, standing.

“It just seems that way,” Hank said. “Listen, Lee, maybe you need to talk to somebody about this.”

“I’m talking to you about it right now.”

“Not me.” Hank frowned. “What about that boy you were seeing? Is he still around?”

She laughed. “Greg and I split up a year ago, and even if we hadn’t, I don’t think I’d be crying on his shoulder.”

“I didn’t say you would be.”

“Good.”

“I know you better than that.”

“You don’t know a goddamn thing about me,” she snapped. Lena left the room, her fists clenching as she took the steps upstairs two at a time, slamming her bedroom door behind her.

Her closet was filled mostly with suits and slacks, but Lena found a black dress tucked in the back. She pulled out the ironing board, stepping back, but not in time to miss the iron slipping off the shelf and smashing into her toe.

“Damnit,” Lena hissed, grabbing her foot. She sat down on the bed, rubbing her toes. This was Hank’s fault, getting her worked up this way. He was always doing this kind of thing, always pushing his damn AA philosophies about closure and sharing onto Lena. If he wanted to live his life that way, if he needed to live his life that way so that he did not end up shooting himself full of dope or drinking himself to death, that was fine, but he had no right to try to push that onto Lena.

As for his armchair diagnosis of Lena being jealous of Nan, that was just ridiculous. Her entire life, Lena had worked to help Sibyl become independent. It was Lena who had read reports aloud so that Sibyl did not have to wait for Braille translations. It was Lena who listened to Sibyl practice her oral exams and Lena who helped Sibyl with experiments. All that had been for Sibyl, to help her go out on her own, to get a job, to make a life for herself.

Lena opened the ironing board and placed the dress on it. She smoothed the material, remembering the last time she had worn this dress. Sibyl had asked Lena to take her to a faculty party at the college. Lena was surprised but had agreed to go. There was a clear line between college people and town folks, and she had felt uncomfortable in that crowd, surrounded by people who had completed not only college but also gone on to get higher degrees. Lena was not a country bumpkin, but she remembered feeling like she stuck out like a sore thumb.

Sibyl, on the other hand, had been in her element. Lena could remember seeing her at the center of a crowd, talking to a group of professors who seemed to be really interested in what she was saying. No one was staring at her the way people did when the girls were growing up. No one was making fun of her or making snide comments about the fact that she could not see. For the first time in her life, Lena had realized that Sibyl did not need her.

Nan Thomas had nothing to do with this revelation. Hank was wrong about that. Sibyl had been independent from day one. She knew how to take care of herself. She