Killing Me Softly Read Free Page B

fears. No, not fears . . . Concerns. Yes, that was a better word. But he couldn’t stop her from taking Cat just because of those concerns. This was the right thing to do. She’d made a promise.
    ‘You’re wrong. Even if my instincts about what Cat needs aren’t right, this will still be the best thing I’ve ever done.’
    ‘I hope you are right.’
    ‘I know I am.’ Was she trying to convince him or herself? ‘The research backs us up and you’ve said it yourself: patients in Cat’s condition benefit from having the people they know and love caring for them. Perhaps having us around all the time is what she needs to help her feel safe enough to venture back to us.’
    Doctor Carlton regarded her seriously. ‘Familial contact can have untold benefits and has made a difference in certain cases. However, the beating she took was terrible. And while everything looked fine on the MRI and CAT scan, there is so much about the brain we still don’t understand. I want you to face the fact that it might not be by choice that she is unable to function and communicate with the outside world. There might be some deeper physical problem. We just don’t know.’
    Lexi shook her head. ‘I know you don’t buy into the twin connection, Doctor Carlton —’
    ‘I never said I didn’t believe you, lass. I said nothing had ever been scientifically proven. There is a difference.’
    ‘Then believe me when I tell you I’d feel it if Cat wasn’t there. I know she’s in there somewhere. She’s been trying to reach out to us. I just have to find a way to make her feel safe enough to keep reaching.’ Lexi was shocked to realise she meant every word. Not about the twin connection. Cat and she had always known what the other felt in a way that was so strong, it was almost as if they could read each other’s minds at times. No, she was shocked that despite all her doubts she really did believe there was a way to help her sister and it was up to her to find it.
    ‘Nothing would make me happier than for you to be proven right, lass.’
    Lexi smiled as a little flutter of excitement began in her chest. ‘When it happens we’ll celebrate together.’
    ‘I look forward to that day.’ He returned her smile, his brown eyes crinkling behind his thick-rimmed glasses. Then he sighed, flipped the photos in the file to the side and said, ‘Now to the dreary part.’
    Lexi swallowed, calmer now the time had finally arrived.
    Cat was coming home.
    Hours later, with the papers signed and the car packed, Cat sat beside her in the front seat, staring straight ahead, eyes fixed on nothing. Lexi sat for a moment, gripping the wheel, unable to start up the car. Her hands were shaking. Her lungs felt like a balloon that could hold no more air and might pop as she tried to breathe deeply to calm down. A tear tumbled from the corner of her eye.
    After a moment, she swiped her cheek. That will be the last tear , she swore. Taking a deep breath, she plastered a smile on her face and started the car. ‘Cat, my darling, I’m taking you home.’
    Cat remained motionless, face slack, eyes looking lifelessly into the distance. Lexi’s chest constricted. Her sister had been the lively, outgoing twin. The twin everyone warmed to. Their mum used to say Cat would get a lot out of life because she put so much in. Lexi was just glad their mum couldn’t see Cat now. Her heart would break.
    The countryside slipped away as they drove up the M1 on the first leg of their journey home. Her spirits lifted despite the sky, grey and heavy, and the drizzling rain that pattered on the windscreen. The future was uncertain, yet it was hers to do with as she wished. She wasn’t bringing the past home. She was finally leaving the nightmare behind. If she was going to do Cat any good, she had to believe that was true.
    They drove through countryside, by turns barren and bountiful. The drizzle became heavier. She turned on the wipers, the swishing sound loud in the