Page 20 of Resilient Love

I hear footfalls from upstairs, my eyes widen, and I frantically turn my body away from the cabinet, doing my best to look nonchalant as I slump against it.

“Chels?” Adhira asks, her voice groggy as she rubs at her eyes, wearing her fluffy green robe and fuzzy socks as she makes it to the bottom of the stairs.

I blow out a breath, my heart beats slowing. “Yeah, sorry. Did I wake you?” I ask.

She shakes her head, pulling out a stool from the kitchen island. It scrapes across the floor, and we both cringe before she takes a seat. “No, I couldn’t sleep,” she says, stifling a yawn with the back of her palm. Her tan skin is mottled, with dark circles under her eyes, and a light sheen of sweat coats her forehead.

“You feeling okay? You look a little rough,” I admit, fiery acid burning up my throat and new anxiety mingling with the thoughts of Elise’s strange behaviour.

She waves me off. “Yeah, just tired from bad dreams.” She nods to the cabinet behind me with her chin, a question in her gaze.

“I counted them a couple times, and she’s only got two extra days’ worth in those bottles,” I say, keeping my voice down. “Do you think she’s been taking them out of the bottle in case we counted them?” I ask her.

“It’s possible, but at a certain point, she wouldn’t be in the right frame of mind to even think of doing something like that. There’s definitely been a shift the last couple days, so maybe that’s when she stopped hiding them,” she says. “I’ve neverwitnessed a manic episode, and I’m certainly not an authority on it, but something doesn’t seem right.”

There’s a loud bang from the front porch. My spine stiffens as I swing my gaze to the front of the house. My poor heart needs a break after this night.

Jingling keys and laughter greet us a moment before Elise bursts through the front door, and my eyes grow wide, panic slipping under my skin. “Elise?” I hadn’t realised she wasn’t home.

“Hey! This is Trev and Tina,” she says, waving between the couple who look drunk off their asses. Her eyes are unfocused, darting around the room as she introduces these complete strangers.

“Hi, what are they doing here?” I ask, doing my best to keep my voice light. My tense jaw doesn’t help me in the endeavour.

Elise leans forward, cupping a hand in a c-shape around her mouth as she whisper-yells, “They’re swingers, and I’m about to get swung.” She giggles loudly. Even drugs and alcohol couldn’t account for this kind of behaviour.Not from Elise.

The couple looks at each other with an inscrutable expression but says nothing.

“O-kay then,” I say, waltzing over to them. I open the door wide, extending my arm out. “It was nice meeting you both, but you’ve gotta go.”

Elise’s head rears back, her eyes narrowing. “They’remyfriends! You can’t kick them out!” she wails. She has bright makeup all over her face, shorts that leave nothing to the imagination, and absolutely nothing besides a lace bra covering her chest.

“Yes, well, maybe they can come play another time. But we have a flight in a few hours, so they’ve gotta leave,” I say. Blessedly, Adhira calls over to her from her seat at the kitchen island.

“That’s right, Elise. Aren’t you so excited for our away game tonight? We’re getting on a plane, and youadoreflights,” she tells her, and Elise’s eyes widen. I clench my eyes shut, bracing for an argument. Elisedoes notlike flying because she has a tremendous phobia of heights. But again, she surprises me as she claps her hands together. My eyes burst open to see her bounding into the kitchen, which gives me the perfect opportunity to usher the drunk couple out of our house. How they find their way home is none of my concern.

Letty stammers down the stairs in nothing but an oversized white Wyvern Warriors t-shirt. My brow quirks at her, my eyes travelling down her muscular goalie thighs, all the way down to her white high-topped socks. “Chels, what’s going on? It’s four in the morning,” she says, her voice low and thick with sleep.

My gaze swings from Letty to Elise in a silent answer. Letty drags in an audible breath, plastering an easy smile on her full lips before she joins us downstairs.

Adhira, Letty, and I spend the next few hours getting Elise’s luggage packed and helping her shower and change. She finally crashes when we board the plane, and it’s an incredible reprieve. As the oldest sister of five with a single mom, I’m no stranger to caretaking, but when the person you’re caring for is not in the right frame of mind to listen to reason, it’s far more exhausting than chasing around four energetic siblings.

I’d love to take a nap for myself, but with Rafael’s questioning gaze swinging between where Letty and I flank Elise, purposefully creating a barricade around her unconscious body in the middle seat, I can’t chance her waking up and doing something stupid.

Coach’s brow furrows before he looks away, slumping back in his seat, and each time he does it, I release a loud sigh. Acid churns in my gut, and I’m even more thankful than ever that you can get anywhere with just a short flight on this continent.

It’s so different from where I grew up in rural Tennessee, and my stomach sours further with the reminder of everything I left behind.

I shake the thought away, focusing my attention on Letty, who conveys a whole conversation in her soulful brown eyes without a single word needing to be spoken.

What the fuck are we going to do? We are so unbelievably screwed, Chels. There’s no way she can play like this.

I look up at the seatbelt light above our heads and blow out another breath before meeting her eyes again.

I know, but we’ll figure it out.

She nods, facing the window, staring out over the city we’re about to land in, but her shoulders are rigid, and her jaw is clenched, giving her unease away.

I hate everything about this.

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