“I’m sorry, Lisa,” he said. “Maybe if I hadn’t asked you to come with me to the hospital—”
“It’s not your fault,” said Lisa.
“I hope you didn’t mind me calling you so many times over the past week,” he said. “I wanted you to know I was thinking about you, but I really shouldn’t have pestered you so much. This might be a stupid question, but how are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” said Lisa. “How is your family?”
“Everyone is doing well,” said Josh. “Richard apologized to my dad. I don’t know what he said because I wasn’t actually there when they talked, but he must have made a convincing argument. My dad forgave him and told him he could stay. It’s still in the early stages, but it looks like it might actually work out.”
Lisa thought Josh should have known better than to bring up the subject of Richard, even though it was perfectly natural. She made a mental note that if she continued to see Josh in any capacity, she would have to interact with Richard, a possibility she didn’t want to consider.
“Is your mother feeling better?” she said.
“Much better,” said Josh, brightening visibly. “She got discharged from the hospital a few days ago. She’s still on antibiotics, but she’s not in danger anymore. Apparently, she’ll be more likely to get infections as long as she’s on chemotherapy. She’s been asking me about you, but I told her we didn’t have any plans to visit.”
Lisa couldn’t imagine being interrogated by Josh’s mother in her current state. It had been hard enough to know what to say before, but now she felt like a fraud. Josh’s mother would see straight through her. It would all be over in a moment.
“I don’t want to visit her anymore,” she said. “I lost the necklace she gave me. I took it off, and now it’s gone forever.”
Josh sat down. Lisa sensed he was struggling with himself. As the silence stretched between them, she turned her attention to the flowers, acutely aware that the last time there had been such a decoration in the house, it had been because of a funeral. Josh finally took a deep breath, as if he had arrived at a decision.
“Lisa, I can’t carry on this charade,” he said. “I know what happened to you, at least a little. It’s none of my business, but I don’t agree with your dad and Richard. You shouldn’t have to hide the truth. I’m here to support you. I don’t know what to say, but I’m happy to listen, or if you aren’t comfortable talking to me about it, I can find someone who can help you.”
“I don’t need help,” said Lisa.
“You don’t have to be scared,” said Josh. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you. I’ll support you no matter what you decide to do, but I think we should tell someone. We can do it right now. All we have to do is get into the car and go to the police station. We’ll tell them everything we know—together.”
“No,” said Lisa. She observed the confusion on his face, but he didn’t demand an explanation, and she didn’t offer one. She felt too worn out to deal with him anymore. She stood up so he would know he was supposed to leave. “Thank you for coming to see me, and thank you for the flowers, but I can’t do this right now.”
“Okay,” said Josh. He got up slowly, looking like he wanted to stay. “When you’re ready, I’ll be here. I just wish I could make everything better. I love you so much, Lisa.”
Lisa didn’t reply. She couldn’t lie to him, but she didn’t love him anymore. Nothing about him had changed; she still admired him and recognized in him all the things that had charmed her, but her heart was empty. Josh hesitated for a moment, and then he left. Lisa went into the kitchen and threw the flowers away.
She returned to her room and crawled into bed. When morning came, she told her mother she wasn’t going back to school. She couldn’t face Josh again. He knew too much. It was only a matter of time before he got the truth out of her, and when he did, they would both be ruined. Besides, Graham’s boss had plans for him and his family. She wanted to warn him, but she didn’t know how. She started ignoring him more and more, and when he finally graduated, she wasn’t there.
The school year ended. Lisa received a list of incomplete grades on her report card. Her mother talked about sending her to summer school, but she refused to leave her room. She waited for her father to intervene until she learned he had accepted a new job up north. Lisa wasn’t surprised when he left without saying goodbye. He hadn’t visited her since she had returned home.
She sometimes wondered if Molly’s body would be discovered, but her mother told her Graham and Molly had moved away. Graham had covered his tracks carefully enough to avoid any unexpected trouble. He would never be brought to justice unless someone revealed what he had done. Lisa couldn’t stop thinking about Molly. She felt like she had failed her, and she became more miserable with each passing day.
Veronica sometimes tried to cheer her up, but Lisa didn’t want to have anything to do with her. Veronica’s happiness about the cancelled divorce filled her with resentment. After all, it was Veronica’s fault she had talked to her father.
Josh’s mother slowly recovered. When Lisa learned her cancer had finally gone into remission, she felt indifferent. Josh and his family left Silvertree soon thereafter, but Lisa didn’t bother to say goodbye to him. She told herself he would forget about her, but she had the strange feeling he wasn’t going to disappear from her life so easily. In a way, she hoped her intuition was correct, but only time would tell. Until then, she would just
