“Hi,” I said softly. “I’m Lauren, a friend of Sunny’s.”

The Mom nodded and looked at Sunny.

The sister said, “Hey.”

“I…” I looked at Sunny before I looked back at her family. “Can I talk to her?”

They both stared at me without speaking.

Shambles, who had come in behind me, said quietly, “Mom, Moonbeam, she means alone.”

They looked at me again, they looked at Sunny. I tried to look reassuring, Sunny just looked blank and Shambles took control, herding Sunny’s family out the door.

He stood in it and nodded to me then it closed on him.

I walked to Sunny and sat at the very edge of the seat of a chair that was pulled close to her side. I looked to her and she was staring at the ceiling.

I took her hand in mine. It was limp. I leaned forward and pressed it against my face, my eyes smarting and I felt the wetness escape and glide down my cheeks. I knew she had to feel it too.

My eyes closed.

“I’m sorry, baby,” I whispered to her hand. “I had magic, I’d take this away.”

I opened my eyes, kept her hand to my face and looked toward her head which had turned and her gaze was on me.

Still dead.

“I can’t do that,” I was still whispering.

She didn’t reply.

“You and me,” I kept whispering, “honey…” I pulled in breath and let it out, “we have to do the next best thing.”

Nothing about her face changed. Not a thing.

“You don’t think you’re strong enough but we’ll find your strength together.”

She looked back at the ceiling.

“He has to be stopped, Sunny.”

Suddenly, she yanked her hand forcefully from mine.

Too fast, I went too fast. Darn.

I gave it a minute then got up and sat on the side of her bed but she turned her head away.

I leaned toward her, not too close, not threatening and I laid it out.

“I’m wired. They’re listening, the police, the FBI, you need to know that.”

She swallowed.

“They can hear but this is just you and me, baby. Right now it’s just you and me.”

No response.

I closed my eyes and bit my lip, opened them and urged, “Please, talk to me.”

Sunny remained silent.

I wiped my face and looked out the window not seeing the landscape there only thinking of finding some way through.

Then it came to me. I should tell her the truth.

“I stayed in Carnal because of you,” I whispered.

I heard movement and I looked back down at her to see she was looking up at me.

I nodded. “It’s true. You and Shambles. Betty and Ned too. Banana bread and Middle Eastern night and knowing I was going to have friends, good ones, ones who genuinely cared, didn’t just say it but acted it… when I met you guys, I knew I was home.”

Her lip quivered.

“I’d been far from home a long time, Sunny, lost and wandering, it’s scary to be in that place alone.” My voice dropped to a whisper. “Thank you for bringing me back home.”

“Petal,” she croaked, her voice thick.

“Talk to me, baby,”

She shook her head.

“You’re safe here, you’re safe with me,” I promised her.

She kept shaking her head so I grabbed her hand, leaned deeper and pulled her hand to my chest, encasing it in both of mine and holding strong.

“You’re safe with me,” I repeated and squeezed her hand. “You can’t wander, lost and alone in your head forever. You can’t.” I squeezed her hand again. “Give me the chance to return the favor, honey, let me give you a little of what you gave me. Let me bring you back home.”

She stared in my eyes for a long time.

Then she opened her mouth and talked to me.

And I realized, even after Tate and Special Agent Tambo’s coaching before I went in her room, I wasn’t prepared.

They didn’t warn me that words could burn straight into your brain.

Sunny’s did in a way that I knew it would take years for those burns to heal.

And when they did, they’d leave scars.

But I’d got her to say the words.

My job was done.

* * * * *

When I walked out of Sunny’s room the door didn’t even close behind me before I felt Tate’s arms close around me.

I shoved my face in his chest and held on tight.

“You did good,” he whispered into my hair.

I nodded against his chest.

He held me awhile then kept me close as his hand went under my t-shirt. I felt his fingers move on me, taking the kit that was attached to my waistband, then going up, his big body shielding mine from onlookers as his fingers followed the thin cord, he carefully ripped the taped microphone off my chest and his hand moved out of my shirt.

Tucking me to his side, he turned to Tambo and handed him the wire.

“Don’t know how to thank you, Miss Grahame,” Tambo said gently to me. “That had to be tough.”

I nodded and said quietly, “It’s okay.”

But it wasn’t okay, my brain was burning and dang, but it hurt.

Tambo nodded back.

“Bub, let’s get Laurie home,” Tate called to Jonas and didn’t wait for a response, he started walking us down the hall.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Shambles,” I said as we made it to him and Tate stopped when I spoke.

Shambles looked toward Sunny’s door then back to me. “You think she’ll talk to me now?”

“Go and see, honey,” I prompted.

He nodded, leaned in and kissed my cheek then hurried down the hall.

Tate started us moving again. We were stopped at the elevators when I felt a hand take mine.

Tate tagged the elevator button and I looked down to see Jonas looking up, studiously avoiding my gaze and staring at the red digital display over the elevator telling us what floors it was moving through like this display might communicate to him straight from God that week’s winning lottery numbers.

And he did this holding my hand.

* * * * *

I didn’t pay much attention as we walked through the grocery store. I was focused on getting ingredients for chocolate chip cookies and the pasta-dijon mustard-mayo-pickle salad that was another one of my specialties that Brad hated due to its abundance of calories and fat. Tate was going to grill burgers for dinner that night and my pasta-dijon mustard-mayo-pickle salad went perfect with hamburgers.

I didn’t pay much attention when we loaded the groceries in the back of the Explorer and I didn’t pay much attention as we started to head home.