Captured Again Read Free Page B

she had to carry her own burdens alone in silence. But for now, she knew it was best to keep her feelings to herself until Gabby had come to grips. She wanted her back... the old spunky version of Gabby, not this lifeless shadow of her sister that was now curled up in the bed.
    She’d come straight over to check on Gabby after leaving the detention center where she was told she couldn’t post Emma’s bail until morning. This after an already long day in court, after which she’d tried again to call and check on Gabby with no answer before finally collapsing in bed, looking forward to a good night’s sleep. Now that Emma had dragged her up, she may as well kill two birds with one stone. Gabby hadn’t answered or returned any texts or calls the entire day, and since she was already up and worried about Emma, there was no use trying to sleep again until she’d at least seen Gabby was okay, which apparently she wasn’t.
    In their family, missed and unreturned calls or texts were a sure sign that someone was hiding from the world—depressed. But for Gabby, it was worse than their average bouts of depression. Gabby had suffered a full-blown episode of PTSD when she’d awoken at the hospital after the accident. The doctor said the post-traumatic stress disorder could either disappear or reappear at will. So far it had yet to disappear again, since the accident. Maybe today was the day. She had to get through to Gabby and pull her up and out of this.
    She announced her presence loudly.
    “ Gabby ... wake up. Emma’s in jail!”
    Gabby bolted up in the bed, screeching in surprise as her tired blue eyes frantically searched the room for the sudden intrusion. When she saw it was just Olivia, she threw her pillow across the room at her sister. “Dammit, Olivia. You scared the hell out of me. Quit sneaking into my house!”
    Olivia threw the pillow back at her, just as hard. “I knocked and stood there five minutes. I wouldn’t have to use my key and sneak if you’d answer your damn door—or your phone! I knew I’d find you in bed. Get up. Get a shower. Right now, while I’m here.”
    Olivia pulled her long, dark hair back and over to one side and sat down on the edge of Gabby’s bed, stiffly facing her to check for signs she was sick.
    “What? Olivia, it’s almost two in the morning. Couldn’t this wait until tomorrow? I do have to work, ya know? What are you doing here so late?” Gabby asked in her normal, although sleepy, voice.
    Doesn’t sound like she’s got a cold, Olivia thought.
    “I said Emma’s in jail,” Olivia answered brusquely. “She’s been drinking and got arrested. And I’ll bet you stayed in bed all weekend and all day today. I tried to call you at work. They said you were sick—again.”
    She looked closer at Gabby, seeing more than one night’s worth of tangles and knots in her unwashed hair... and while she didn’t smell bad—or sick—she didn’t smell good either. It was late; maybe she should let Gabby sleep and just check in the morning to be sure she made it to work. She looked around at Gabby’s usually spotless room, noticing piles of clothes on the floor, a mound of unopened mail on the desk, and shoes haphazardly sprinkled about.
    This is so unlike Gabby, she thought. She’s getting worse—not better. If I leave, nothing is going to change. It’ll be the same thing tomorrow, and she may not make it to work again. Olivia had already spoken with Gabby’s boss weeks ago, and while he’d been very understanding so far about her situation, Gabby couldn’t afford to miss any more work.
    Olivia crossed her arms and cleared her throat. “I’m not moving from this bed, Gabby. You may as well get up and get in the shower. We’ve got to go bail Emma out in a few hours anyway, and I need your help. You need to get up and talk to me... I want you to try harder. If I leave, you’ll go back to sleep, stay in this bed, and probably call in to work again tomorrow.”
    “Oh, for