Page 62 of The Perfect Secret

“I’m awake,Bubbe.” She rubbed her face. “What’s wrong?”

Her grandma walked in holding the apartment phone. “There’s a call for you.”

On the home phone? No one called on the home phone. Her grandmother and telemarketers used it. If this was a telemarketer at eight-flippin’ thirty on a Saturday, they would pay.

“Hello?”

“Hannah, it’s Tess.”

Hannah sat up straight. “Hi, Tess.”

“Um, I’m sorry to bother you…”

“It’s okay, sweetheart. What’s wrong?”

There was a gasp, sobs, and words she couldn’t make out. Her heart beat fast in her chest. She clasped the phone tightly. Her grandmother frowned. Hannah shook her head, covered the phone, and whispered, “I have no idea what’s going on.” Uncovering the mouthpiece, she waited until there was a pause in the noise on the other end. “Tess, honey, I can’t understand what you said. Take a deep breath and start over.”

“It’s my dad.”

A frisson of fear trickled down her spine. She jumped out of bed, trying to untangle the sheets around her legs. “What happened?”

“His leg hurts. I mean, it always hurts, but it’s much worse and he fell and I can’t get him up and I don’t know what to do. Can you help me please?”

“Of course, sweetheart. Did you call 911?” She grabbed clothes and started to put them on.

“I wanted to call, but he yelled at me not to. He’s fallen before when his leg gives out. He’d kill me if he knew I called you, but I’m scared. I haven’t seen him like this in a really long time.”

“Okay. Give me about fifteen minutes. And Tess? I’m glad you called.”

Hanging up, she finished dressing. With a few quick words to her grandmother, she raced the ten blocks to Dan’s apartment. Her hand was poised to knock on the door when Tess jerked it open.

The teen fell into Hannah’s arms and trembled against her shoulder.

“Shh, it’s okay, honey.” Hannah rubbed her back. She’d never seen Tess like this, but she couldn’t show her how freaked out she was. After a moment, Tess pulled away. Her face was splotchy, her eyes red, and she pulled her hair forward to cover her embarrassment.

“Tess, you did the right thing by calling me.”

Tess blew her hair out of her face. “You were the first person I could think of. I’m sorry I worried you. He’s fallen before and it’s not usually a big deal, but he’s been acting weird lately and I just wanted you to be here.”

“Don’t worry about me. Why don’t you take me to your dad.”

As she led her inside, she looked over her shoulder at Hannah. “He’ll be really mad at me for doing this.”

Hannah patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”

“He’s in there.” Tess pointed to the kitchen from the safety of the hallway.

Hannah peeked around the doorway. The counter was messy and things had fallen to the floor. An overhead light brightened the room. It wasn’t until she stepped in that she saw him, sitting in a chair brought in from the dining room. His face was contorted in a grimace. His good leg was bent and he was trying to lever himself to a standing position. He moaned.

A shiver of fear passed through her. She knelt by his side, hand on his arm. “Dan?”

He opened his eyes, locked his gaze with Hannah, before he shut them again. His face turned a dark red. “What are you doing here?”

“Tess called me. Are you okay? What happened?”

“I don’t want you here. I’m fine.” He tried to stand up, winced, and sat back on the chair, hands fisted on the edges of the seat, jaw clenched. He ignored Hannah’s outstretched arms.

Tess spoke from the doorway. “Daddy, you needed help and she was the only—”

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