Dita didn’t know what was harder to believe; that everything in the last day had really happened, or that it had… affected her so much. She wasn’t her usual self. It was freaking her out, to be honest. She was normally able to walk right through any situation virtually emotionally unscathed... but now? She wasn’t so sure. Heather was the one who worried about these things. Heather was the one who broke down. Heather was the one that came to her for consolation. Now, everything had flipped upside-down. Heather seemed to be taking things fairly well, though Rachel had definitely been a bit more shaken by poor Terry’s injury.
Poor Terry… she wondered why the thought crossed her mind. By her logic, Terry got himself into this mess, and it was his fault that something happened to him. Why then couldn’t she get it out of her head? The thoughts rolled around in her head. For the better part of the day, she thought the whole situation, and her reactions, and for the most part ended up shut inside her room. She was heather’s rock… she felt like if she showed herself to be vulnerable, it might take Heather’s foundation away… they all knew that was the last thing they needed. She had come out to grab some food, and that was about it, barely speaking a word to the others the whole day.
After all her contemplation… After all her reasoning… After all her uncharacteristic breakdowns… there was only on conclusion she could come to. The worst part was, she could feel it was true…
She loved Terry.
Heather sat in the dining room, clutching her cell phone. This was the call she had dreaded making ever since they found out what Terry knew. She sighed, bringing up the contacts table and selecting “Mom” from the list. She was about to hit the send button when…
“Oh, deary. Don’t do that just yet.” Mrs. O’Hara plucked the phone from her grasp.
“But!...” Heather yelped as her phone left her grasp.
“I know, I know lass. You want to find out what to do with the boy.”
Heather nodded. “It’s just… Dita’s mom said that if anyone found out…”
“…Your secret became theirs, right?” Mrs. O’Hara shut the flip phone, and set it on the table. “As far as this old woman can tell, it’s already his secret.” She patted the girl on the back.
“But, Mrs. O’Hara…” Heather struggled to find a decent rebuttal for her caretaker’s comment.
“It’s okay. We’ll call your mother in the morning, lass. Let the boy rest for now. He ain’t doin’ nothin’ for a while.”
Heather sighed, and reluctantly nodded her head. She placed the phone back in her pocket. “…How’s he doing, then?”
Mrs. O’Hara wiped her brow. “Well, the boy’s seen better days… and he’s gonna have a bit of a shocker when he sees that hand of his… but I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s been asleep for a good while. You, on the other hand…” Mrs. O’Hara pointed to the dining room clock, which read “3:23 AM” “…Need to be doin’ the same. Now, off to bed with ya.”
Dita couldn’t believe she was doing this. She’d heard people say that love made people do crazy things, but… she’d only just figured the whole thing out a little while ago. They were pretty dead on, she thought, as she slowly slid the door to Terry’s room open. She could see him laying there on the bed asleep. What’s more, she could see his hand… it was like a mangled tree branch. She had to bite her lip to keep the tears back. She mustered up her resolve, and took a few steps forward, leaning over his bed. If Dita had come this far, she wasn’t going to turn back now…
“…Terry?” Dita spoke softly, nudging him a bit.
She could see the boy begin to stir…