Downfall by S.D. Wasley
****
They sent me home on day five. Before leaving the hospital I asked Mum to come visit us in Augur’s Well and she said she would try, so long as Dad was away on tour. Dad was already preparing to return to his tour schedule but he visited briefly before catching a flight out of Revel City. He sat in the chair beside my bed and leaned his elbows on my mattress to look into my eyes.
“Honey, I’ve been thinking. I want you to come back on tour with me when you’ve recovered. I’m worried about you living in Augur’s Well without a parent to look after you. You and Starr can work together, huh? She’s struggling with the job a little. You’d be an enormous help.”
How odd, to be offered exactly what I’d wanted for the past few months and have no desire at all to take it. I shook my head. “No. I want to stay and finish school.”
Dad, expecting me to jump at the chance, did a double-take. “We can get you another tutor,” he tried, and we both looked away awkwardly. “A female one.”
I laughed. “No thanks, Dad. I like college. It’s easier to learn in a classroom. I want to stay in Augur’s Well.”
Dad never liked being refused anything. His carefully-clipped eyebrows knotted for a moment, and then he looked at his watch and stood.
“Let’s talk about this again when you’re back to normal, Frankie.” He kissed my forehead and hurried away to catch his plane.
Vanessa drove me home to the Old House. Albion had installed a mountain of fresh white pillows for me to sit up against in my aquamarine bed. My bedside table held a bottle of water, a pill box, a thermometer, and a jar of jelly beans, as well as a note that said, Shopping for food―back by 2pm. Alby xx. I was so touched I nearly cried.
Vanessa settled me in and went to wait for Albion’s return, flipping channels in the lounge room. When he arrived home, we shouted greetings across the house―but then came the sound of Cain’s bike in the front yard. Albion let him in but I could just picture the thinly disguised disapproval on his face. Never mind. Warmth coursed through me when I saw Cain’s smile. He’d brought a bag with him, which he put in the corner of my bedroom. He was here to stay, determined to help take care of me.
Albion wasn’t impressed. He tried to fault Cain’s method of looking after me, which mainly consisted of being with me and making me feel exquisitely happy. Albion competed, taking my temperature at regular intervals and providing nutritious food, all chopped up small and easy to digest. His unspoken displeasure continued through the week while I slept in bed, or rested on the sofa, unable to fight the sedative effect of the pain medication. On one of the sofa occasions, Albion ran into Cain in the kitchen and addressed him directly for the first time.
“Coffee?” came the gruff offer.
“Thanks.” Cain sounded surprised.
There was silence while Albion made the coffee, followed by the creak of chairs. I smiled at the thought of them sitting at the kitchen table together.
“Thanks for letting me stay here with Francesca,” Cain said tentatively.
“It wasn’t me who let you stay. It was Frankie.”
There was silence again. “You know I wouldn’t let anything hurt her,” Cain attempted but Albion just laughed. “What?”
“You’ve already hurt her just by insisting on being in her life,” Albion said.
Cain paused before he replied. “That’s all over. Things will be different now.”
“She’s scared of you.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I’ve seen it,” Albion said. “I’ve seen her trying to stay away from you and those other creeps. I’ve seen her run and hide when you came to the door and I’ve seen her have nightmares. I watched her turn into a sad, switched-off, empty shell. And a week ago you put her in danger of her life. You might not like to hear this but you aren’t good for her, Cain.”
Cain muttered something that sounded like, “I can be good for her.”
Albion didn’t reply but a moment later a chair creaked again. The conversation was over.