Mrs. Brooks gave me an impish smile, making her look younger than her years. “I always knew my Cassie was special, but I didn’t realize how special until recently. I finally realized why she’s gone so much. It’s because sometimes she’s dead.”
Fear clutched at me and my voice trembled when I spoke. “Where is she when she’s not dead?”
“She’s here with me, of course,” Mrs. Brooks answered, like it was the obvious answer. “But she’s lonely when she’s not with me, so she wants me to go with her.”
I wasn’t equipped to handle this. I wanted to get up and run out of the room to get Mr. Brooks, but she had a manacle grip on my hands.
“Is she…is she here now?” I asked, swallowing hard.
Mrs. Brooks frowned. “No, you would see her if she was.” Her countenance brightened. “But I think she’ll be here later tonight.”
I knew it was just Mrs. Brooks’ sickness talking, but her words scared me. She seemed so convinced that Cassie was visiting her, but of course it wasn’t possible.
“Do you mind if I step out for a minute?” I asked, careful to keep my tone neutral. “It was a long drive and I just want to freshen up a bit.”
“Of course,” Mrs. Brooks said, smiling. “I’ll be waiting for you to come back.”
I tried to return her smile, not really succeeding, but she didn’t seem to notice. Relief rushed through me when I closed the bedroom door behind me. It was like a weight had been lifted off my chest the moment I left the room. I went downstairs to find Mr. Brooks and Logan in the living room, although neither of them were talking. They both got up when I entered the room, but I indicated that they should both sit back down. I sat down next to Logan on the sofa, facing Mr. Brooks.
“How did it go?” Mr. Brooks asked, his voice hopeful. I now understood why he looked like he had aged a decade in one year.
“Not so good,” I said. My voice dropped, as if I were afraid she would overhear me although her bedroom was upstairs and far from the living room. “She said that sometimes Cassie is dead and sometimes she’s here with her. I’m not sure exactly what she means but it scares me.”
Mr. Brooks’ expression deflated. “That started a few nights ago. I’m not going to lie; it scares me, too.” His expression grew grim. “Especially when she tells me Cassie wants her to join her.”
“She needs to see a doctor. We’re not equipped to deal with her illness. I don’t know what the right thing to say to her is. We could be making the situation worse, not better.”
His face fell. “She’s seen a doctor. Multiple doctors. The past few months I began to realize that she was starting to get worse. I’ve been trying to get her to face the fact that Cassie is gone. I’ve taken her to doctor after doctor but they all say the same thing.” He looked at me with fear and desperation in his eyes. “They want her committed to a mental hospital. They say she needs in-patient psychiatric help.”
I took a deep breath before replying. “Is that such a bad thing?” I said, trying to be as sympathetic as possible. “I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you to deal with her sickness all these years. Admitting her to a hospital means she’ll get the help she needs.”
“She’s may be deluded in some ways but she’s not dumb. She knows what the doctors are recommending.” Mr. Brooks’ face was stark with grief. “She told me she’d die in there. She begged me not to throw her away. No matter how I explain it to her, she believes being committed to a hospital means I’ve given up on her.” His expression turned fierce. “That will never happen. Not even if it means I have to sell my company and stay home with her every day.”
Logan had been silent this entire time, but when I felt him take my hand in his, I squeezed it in appreciation. I drew strength from his presence. Everything that had happened between us took a back seat to what was happening now, and I was just grateful for his support.
Mr. Brooks glanced at our intertwined hands, but surprisingly he didn’t seem to give it a second thought as he rubbed his forehead wearily. “It’s my fault, anyway. I let this go on far too long.”
“None of knew what to do,” I said, although truthfully, I believed that she should have gotten help a long time ago. “But we can make sure she gets the help she needs now.” I sighed heavily. “She’s expecting me to come back up.” My stomach churned at the thought. I was scared of what she would say next.
“I’ll go with you.”
I turned to Logan at his offer. “I don’t know how she’ll react to seeing you.”
“Maybe it’s a good idea for Logan to see Judith.”
I looked at Mr. Brooks in surprise. That was the last thing I expected him to say. He knew that Logan and I had been romantically involved last year and had been vehemently against it. His hostility had been clear when he had first seen Logan today. He didn’t know anything about Logan’s accident and what had happened between us, but I’m sure he assumed we were still a couple by our clasped hands.
“Are you sure?” I asked skeptically.
Mr. Brooks hesitated before responding. “She thinks of Logan fondly. I know I reacted badly to him showing up today, but it was a
knee jerk reaction. More out of surprise than anything else.” He paused before continuing. “It might be a good idea if you two don’t act affectionate in front of her. She still thinks of Logan as Cassie’s boyfriend.” His eyes dropped to our clasped hands and his gaze raised to meet mine. “I know I was out of line when I accused you of betraying Cassie. She loved you and I think she would have been happy that you and Logan ended up together. After all, she loved both of you.”
Shame washed over me. Mr. Brooks didn’t know that we had, in fact, betrayed Cassie long ago. I pulled my hand out of Logan’s, and I felt his body tense, although he didn’t say a word. He followed me as I got up and went up the stairs. The walk down the hallway to Mrs. Brooks’ bedroom filled me with dread. I paused before opening the door and turned to Logan.
“I’m not sure how she’s going to react to seeing you,” I said softly. “If she gets upset, it’s probably a good idea for you to leave the room.”
Logan nodded, and then I opened the door. Mrs. Brooks was exactly the way I left her. She smiled at me, but her face lit up when she saw Logan.