“It’s not entirely up to him,” Ronnie said, his tone unyielding. “And just so you know, he agrees with Dr. McDaniels that you can’t leave unless you start cooperating with her.”
“They’re sticking together?” Annie asked incredulously. “That sucks.”
“You should be grateful to them,” Ronnie said. “If you don’t get to the bottom of what happened, Annie, you’ll wind up right back in here again—and next time you might not be so lucky.”
Annie locked gazes with her dad and tears welled up in her eyes. “But I’m okay now, really. Please, Daddy, just take me home. This will never happen again. I swear it.”
Dana Sue saw the muscle working in Ronnie’s jaw and knew he was struggling with himself.
“Taking you home before Dr. McDaniels says it’s okay is not an option,” he said at last. “I don’t care how many tears you shed or how many promises you make. Until we know with absolute certainty that you’re not going to stop eating again, we can’t risk it, Annie.”
She looked stunned by his refusal. “You don’t get to come back here after abandoning me, and tell me what to do,” she said bitterly. “If you loved me, you wouldn’t have left, and you wouldn’t make me do this.”
Though he was visibly shaken by the accusation, Ronnie’s resolve didn’t waver. “Your mom and I do love you, more than anything on this earth. I think you know that. We don’t want to lose you, sweetie.”
“But I’m fine,” Annie protested, her voice rising. “Fine!” She leaped out of the bed. “Here, I’ll prove it,” she said, spinning around and dancing to some tune that was playing only in her head.
“Stop it right this second!” Dana Sue commanded. “Get back into bed.”
The no-nonsense tone brought Annie up short. Blinking back a fresh batch of tears, she sat on the edge. Dana Sue moved over to sit beside her. Thinking about what Ronnie had revealed earlier in the day, she asked, “I need to know the truth about something. Have you been eating the meals they’re bringing to you? Are you really consuming all those calories they think you are?”
“I’m not flushing anything down the toilet, if that’s what you’re asking,” Annie said defensively. “Somebody sits here to make sure of that.”
“That’s not exactly what I asked,” Dana Sue said gently. “Are you eating every bite?”
Annie avoided her gaze.
“Are you?” she persisted.
“It’s too much food,” Annie protested, but she looked ashamed.
“Have you eaten any of it?” Dana Sue said, not giving her an inch.
“Some,” Annie said.
“And the rest? Do you leave it on the tray so the nurses can decide if you’re following the rules? Before you answer, remember that I know just how sneaky you can be when you want someone to believe you’re eating properly.”
Annie’s chin set and she remained stubbornly silent.
“I didn’t think so,” Dana Sue said wearily.
“I told you, they watch me like a hawk,” Annie grumbled. “It’s not like I can get away with cheating. It’s no wonder I don’t have any appetite.”
Dana Sue wasn’t convinced she hadn’t found another way around the rules. “If you’re not flushing it down the toilet, what then? Are you hiding it somewhere till after they’re gone?”
She stood up and reached for the trash can, but before she could dig around in it, Annie began to cry in earnest.
“Mom, stop it,” she pleaded. “Not you, too. Doesn’t anybody trust me?”
Dana Sue found a napkin in the bottom of the trash with half a turkey sandwich wrapped in it. Her heart aching, she held up the damning evidence. “Baby, don’t you see, this is exactly why you need to talk to Dr. McDaniels. It’s barely been a week since you’ve been out of ICU and you’re already falling back into the same old pattern.”
“What about you?” Annie retorted, her tone scathing. “How many times have you pulled a pint of ice cream from the fridge since Dad came back to town? Talk about old patterns.”
Dana Sue felt heat climb into her cheeks. “Not the point,” she said, avoiding Ronnie’s gaze. “You’re the one in a crisis now, not me.”
“Your mother’s right,” he said, his voice surprisingly harsh. “And I don’t ever want to hear you speak to her that way again. Understood?”
Annie looked as if she wanted to lash out at both of them, but instead she nodded. “I’m sorry, Mom,” she said, her tone meek.
“Apology accepted.” Dana Sue brushed Annie’s hair back from her face. If she needed reminding of just how bad things were and why they were doing this, touching those brittle strands were enough to bring the point across.
“I’m tired,” Annie said, crawling back beneath the covers and turning away from them.
“Then we’ll let you get some rest,” Dana Sue said, exhausted herself. “Please think about what we’ve said. When Dr. McDaniels comes tomorrow, talk to her. She’s not the enemy. She’s on your side.”
Annie didn’t respond.
Dana Sue cast a helpless look at Ronnie, then stood up to wait as he leaned down to kiss Annie.
“’Night, sweet pea,” he said. “Love you.”
“Love you, too,” Annie murmured, her voice catching on a sob.
Dana Sue had to leave the room before she, too, burst into tears. When Ronnie followed her out, she looked into his distraught face.
“Do you think any of that got through to her?” she asked him.
“I wish to hell I knew,” he said. “We did the best we could.”
She met his gaze and voiced her worst fear. “What if it’s not enough?”
“It has to be,” he said simply. “It just has to be.”
* * *
Though Ronnie was excited about getting into the old hardware store to see its potential, he couldn’t shake the scene with Annie from his head. Would today go better than previous days when she met with Dr. McDaniels? And if it didn’t, what would happen next? The possibility of having to send Annie away loomed over everything. He knew Dana Sue was no happier about it than he was. Both of them were praying it wouldn’t
