18 ✓

THIRTY

Getting that kind of phone call is never easy.

The person on the other end tells you to remain calm. And yet you hear it clear as day in their voice that they aren't following their advice.

You begin to think of every possible explanation for how and why it happened, the worst thing you could do. It only makes it worse. You know that. But you can't help yourself.

Ethan told us not to worry - that Hunter's injuries weren't life threatening. Knowing that didn't stop my trembling hands or the sweat from pooling on the back of my neck.

The worst part was that I couldn't express my fear to the fullest extent, worried I would set off alarm bells.

Why would I be on the verge of tears over someone I barely knew? Would it even be normal if I acted a certain way? Was my attempts to keep myself contained making it worse? Did I seem careless?

I knew I wasn't expressing an unusual amount of emotion or fear over the situation. Unfortunately, Dad's conditioning of never showing emotions because emotions were weak was still ingrained in my DNA. But that didn't stop me from overthinking.

Delilah and I were similar when it came to overthinking about the unknown - however, while I was good at keeping it contained, she was far more expressive with her emotions. I was surprised by how calm she was around Lily, not letting her daughter see the entire state of panic I had witnessed moments ago while she was on the phone.

Ethan told us not to worry. Yet the two overthinking sisters couldn't do anything but that.

"Can I go play with Harry again after?" Lily pouted from her car seat.

The kid was far from amused with her mother over the interruption. The unhappy attitude began when she was pulled away from her playdate. Still, Delilah remained calm and collected, responding to every inquiry with just enough to answer her questions without giving away too much detail. Mothers were always so good at that. Well, not ours, but that woman was another can of worms my brain couldn't dive into at the moment.

"Maybe, honey. We will have to see what time it is," Delilah answered without a hint of tremble in her voice and a plastered smile. But the way her fingers tapped against the steering wheel and she chewed her bottom lip signalled that she was far from calm.

"Where are we going?"

"To see Uncle Hunter."

"Why?"

"Because he's not feeling well."

"Does he have a cookie?"

Delilah glanced at Lily using the rearview mirror. "A cookie?"

"When I don't feel well, you give me a cookie!"

My sister fell silent, sinking her teeth further into her bottom lip. I wasn't sure if she didn't know how to respond or was too overwhelmed by Lily's adorable innocence.

I looked over my shoulder. "I like cookies too. Maybe we can go find him one when we get there?"

Lily nodded happily and babbled on about various topics that had more to do with her playmate Harry than our sudden need to go to Hunter. Aside from the handful of times she asked, "are we there yet" Lily was quite the easy passenger in the car. And thankfully, she enjoyed conversing with me now, so I was able to pull her attention away from Delilah.

"Here we are," Delilah announced, shifting the car into park. She glanced down at the ticket she had to pay for parking in the lot, mumbling curses about how expensive it was, before shoving it into her purse. "Bring your juice box in case you get thirsty."