Page 110 of Come Back to Me

Elena rears back at my words. “You’re not my Cody.”

Tee hums, and though I usually enjoy her little forays into music, right now I want peace.

Except, Elena, who’s getting more riled up by my presence than before, immediately sags. Her hands come up to cup her face and she starts weeping.

Those tears gut me.

“Would you look at that?” one of the customers whispers. “She always was clever with music.”

I notice Tee’s gently stroking Elena’s hair back from her face.

“It’s me, Elena. But I got a different job.”

“Y-You don’t sound like him. Y-You sound like...” A gasp escapes her and her hand drops from her face. “You sound like Clay. My Clay.”

My mouth forms an imperfect circle. Tee freezes and stops humming, but that only leads to Elena banging her fists on her knees again. “Where’s Clay? He’ll fix this. I know he’s not dead. Not really. That bastard took him from me.” Her weeping shifts into howling sobs that speak of a grief greater than a neighbor should feel for another.

I frown at the dirty secrets Elena’s inadvertently spilled in the five minutes since I showed up and can only imagine what she’s shared since her health deteriorated.

“Did anyone call the Frobishers?” I demand.

“We tried, but there was no answer.”

Like someone pressed a switch, Elena stops wailing. “I saw to that. They’re trying to imprison me in that house, Cody. Why aren’t you stopping them?” Her hands grab mine, nails digging in, the tips biting into me. “You’re supposed to love me. Why aren’t you keeping them from hurting me?”

Mary dips down to whisper, “They’re not.”

It’s soft enough Elena can’t hear since she’s back to crying. “But if they try so much as to shut her door, she gets worse and says the most horrible things about them.”

Considering how much they love their mom, I can’t imagine how badly that must hurt.

“Thanks, Mary.”

She pats my shoulder. “Tell them if there’s anything we can do, we’ll be right over.”

The generous offer makes me even more aware of where I lack.

I clear my throat. “Elena, I need you to look at my eye. But I don’t want everyone to know what Clyde did.” That triggers muttering, but it’s not exactly news that Clyde was a bastard.

“Oh, my boy. Of course.”

Happy now that she’s gotten her way, the switch having been pushed again that makes her immediately calm, we head out, and I realize Tee’s following along, as are the other customers.

Marty’s standing by the back of the car, the door open, and gently, I guide Elena over to it and help her inside.

“Tee, would you come with us? Your humming seemed to help her.”

“Of course,” she agrees, moving around the trunk to climb in beside Elena, hefting a bulky tote onto her shoulder that bulges at the sides.

Mary’s apparently the official spokesperson of the crowd at the store because she adds, “Harry wanted me to tell you that she’s gotten worse since Blanche fell down the stairs.”

Blanche is Bast’s grandmother.

“Is she okay?”

“Bedridden.”

“Jesus, they’ve really been hammered this year, haven’t they?”

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