Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
MYTHIC
“Hey, baby girl,” I said to Treasure.
She was home and sitting in the family room with her feet up.
She glanced at me and gave me a slight smile, but she didn’t say anything.
The slight smile was progress, so I would take it for what it was worth.
I felt like I was losing hope in ever having her return to her normally bubbly self.
She should have been in the kitchen with Mama, baking something or designing some type of craft to pair with the dessert.
“Mythic,” she whispered.
I grabbed her hand and caressed it with my thumb, wishing she would say more.
Maui’s cousin, Karima, had come over and talked to her.
She told us that Treasure would come around in her time.
The trauma was so overwhelming for her. She’d practically had a nervous breakdown.
She stared at our hands, and I could see her swallow hard.
I closed my eyes for a moment, then went to the kitchen to speak to my mama.
I sat at the bar and just observed her as she decorated a cake. She seemed to be concentrating hard, so I didn’t say anything. When she finished the design she was doing, she stared at it for a second, then lifted her eyes to mine. “Good morning, baby.”
“Good morning.”
She had bags under her eyes, and I knew I did too.
I lowered my head and took a deep breath.
My gaze went back to her as she continued to work.
I didn’t know why I came in here if I didn’t plan to talk, so I got up and went back to the family room with Treasure.
She was watching Family Feud. I lifted the recliner at the other end of the couch and pulled my phone from my pocket to message Maui. It was already ten.
I’d been sleeping better in the wee hours of the morning, so it caused me to sleep later.
I didn’t fall asleep until around three this morning, and I woke up at nine.
I was grateful that I was getting any sleep at all.
I barely slept the first three nights after we found Treasure, even with Maui lying next to me.
She was my peace, but this was too much for even her to calm.
Good morning. I hope you’re having a good day.
It was crazy that I seemed to communicate more through text message than I did verbally.
I knew it had to be frustrating for her.
All I could think about was how what happened to Treasure could have happened to her as well.
If I had lost her, I wanted to believe that I would have been even worse than I was now.
I would have burned Liberty to the ground.
When I looked up, Treasure was staring at me.
I gave her a soft smile. It had been a week since I’d found her, and still, the only thing she’d said was my name.
I wanted to believe she was screaming for me, begging for me to help her.
She gave me a tight smile back. I moved closer to her and grabbed her hand again. “I love you, sis.”
I found myself constantly trying to get her to talk. She trained her gaze on our hands, and I saw the tear drop from her lashes. “I love you too, Mythic,” she whispered.
My eyes widened, and I immediately put my arm around her.
She leaned against me and wrapped her arms around my waist. I kissed her head, thanking God she responded to me.
In the back of my mind, I was afraid she would be angry at me for everything that happened to her.
So far, it didn’t seem like she was. I kissed her head again, and she looked up at me.
She licked her lips and whispered, “I’m hungry. ”
That shit was music to my ears. She’d been sucking on protein shakes and shit, not wanting food. “What do you want to eat?”
“Eggs and toast.”
“You want me to make you an egg sandwich?”
“No. I want Mama to make me an egg sandwich.”
When she smiled, I realized she was fucking with me. I smiled so fucking big. I couldn’t even get on her for dismissing my cooking skills. When I was about to get up, she held me tighter. “Don’t leave me.”
“I’ll never leave you.” I closed my eyes, then yelled, “Ma!”
She came to the room we were in with a frown on her face until she saw the way Treasure was practically clinging to me. “Treasure wants an egg sandwich.”
Her eyebrows lifted, then she gave me the side-eye. “Mythic, if you want an egg sandwich, you know how to ask for what you want. You don’t have to blame it on Treasure.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Naw! She does. Right, Treasure?”
She smiled at Mama and nodded. My mama came over and knelt in front of us as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Hey, Mama,” Treasure whispered.
Mama started to cry audibly. I knew how she felt. I was starting to think I would never hear Treasure’s voice again. Technically, I still hadn’t really heard it, but we were making strides in that direction. Mama kissed her hand, and said, “Hey, baby. One egg sandwich coming up!”
Treasure smiled, this time showing her teeth. When Mama walked away, she whispered, “Mythic.”
I looked down at her as she lifted her head. “Thank you.”
I closed my eyes and bit my bottom lip. I nodded. “I hate I didn’t find you sooner.”
She didn’t say anything in response to what I said.
When my phone vibrated, I knew it was probably Maui responding to me.
She stayed in Nome last night. Not having her next to me was hard, but I made it through.
I missed her though. I opened our thread to see her response.
Good morning, baby. My day has been okay, but I have some very important news to share with you. I’ll come over when I get off.
I took a deep breath. It was always something. I hoped it wasn’t anything that would piss me off. I was liable to really fuck some shit up this time. I responded. Okay. I can’t wait to see you.
I set my phone beside me and put my arm back around my sister.
I couldn’t wait until next week when they took this fucking cast off.
My arm was probably skinny and weak as hell.
I caught a whiff of what Mama had going on in the kitchen, wishing I would have asked for a sandwich too.
“Damn, Mama. That smells good as hell. Is it too late to ask you to make me one?”
I felt Treasure’s body shaking, so I looked down to see she was laughing. “What you laughing at, Treasure? That smell got a nigga stomach growling.”
She smiled and asked, “Where’s Maui?”
“She went to work.”
Her voice came in a little bit that time, and it made me smile from my fucking heart.
I wanted to ask questions so badly, but I didn’t want to push her.
I felt like she would talk about it when she was ready.
Just the fact that she was talking was enough for now.
I knew it would probably be soon though.
My mama came to the family room where we were with one plate.
That was when I realized she never responded to me.
“I guess it was too late,” I said as she handed the plate to Treasure.
When Treasure sat up, I realized there were three sandwiches on the plate. “You do love me. Thank you, Mama,” I said.
“Thank you, Mama. This smells good,” Treasure said in her full voice.
My smile was as wide as Travis Hunter’s. I grabbed a sandwich from the plate and said, “Thank You, Jesus, for blessing Mama to be able to throw down in the kitchen. Amen.”
Treasure chuckled. I stared at her as she took a small bite of her sandwich. “It feels so good to hear your voice.”
She glanced at me and swallowed what was in her mouth. “I knew I had better get myself together for your sake. Depression was going to take you out.”
I lowered my head. She had just been through something so traumatic, and she was still worried about me. I nodded repeatedly and took a bite of my sandwich. I closed my eyes and said, “That’s alright right there. Thanks, Ma.”
I could hear her laugh. Laughter hadn’t been heard here in a while. It was doing my heart good. I felt like it was probably doing Treasure’s heart some good too.
“Hey, everybody,” Maui said as she walked through the door.
I didn’t tell her Treasure was talking now, so I couldn’t wait to see her response.
My dad had gotten home earlier, so he hugged Maui on his way back in here.
When he sat, Maui came over to where Treasure and I were.
She’d been glued to me all day, not wanting me to move.
When I had to go to the bathroom, she literally sat by the door until I came out.
That shit broke my heart, but at the same time, it let me know she trusted me to protect her.
It seemed since she started talking, she’d clung to me even more. It was like she thought talking would help them find her again. She probably felt like I was the only one who could protect her from them, especially since I was the one who’d found her.
Maui kissed my lips. “Hey, baby,” she said and sat next to me.
“Hey, baby girl. How was the rest of your day?”
She smiled. “It was okay. It’s better now. You seem to be, umm, I don’t know . . . lighter?”
“I am. Thank you for holding me down when I could barely hold myself together.”
She rubbed my cheek in a soothing manner, then looked over at Treasure. “Hi, Treasure. I hope you’re feeling better today.”
“Hey, Maui.”
My baby hopped out of her seat next to me, causing us all to laugh. “Treasure!”
Treasure laughed as Maui sat next to her, pulling her in her arms. She hugged Maui back as she laughed.
Everyone smiled as they watched them. Epic walked in with a smile on his face, so I was sure he heard the commotion.
We’d called Cachet earlier for Treasure to talk to her as well.
Carter was the only one who didn’t know, but he wouldn’t find out today because he was at a rodeo out of town.
Dad stayed home to be close to Treasure.
I could count how many of Carter’s rodeos he’d missed.