Chapter Four- She Needs The Help
Reba sat on the living room couch, folding clothes and watching some old progam on television. She wasn't really paying any attention to it though, she had other things on her mind. After an incident that landed Kyra into the hospital for a night, Reba vowed to send her to get some help...and it was tearing her up inside.
"Hey you," Jack walked in, set his keys on the table and gave Reba a kiss on the forehead.
"Hey," she replied, not taking her eyes from the shirt she was folding.
"Still worried about Kyra, huh?" Jack sat down on the couch next to her.
Reba shut the television off and turned her body to face Jack. "What if it all becomes too much for her? What if she decides that she just doesn't want to go on anymore? When I found her that night, fully clothed in the tub, the water stained red... it scared me... beyond words. What if one day, we do find her... but it's too late?" She asked, clutching the shirt in her hand, the tears threatning to spill out her eyes.
Jack took the shirt from her hand and set it down in the laundry basket, then pulled her into his arms and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Do you know the first thing she said to me after she woke up in the hospital?"
Jack shook his head no and Reba pulled herself up out of his arms. She took a deep breath and continued, "She looked over at me with no expression on her face and asked... 'why didn't you just let me die?'"
Jack reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly, "What did you say?"
"I honestly didn't know what to say... I stood there, shocked. Then Brock jumped in. That's when we agreed right there to get her some help... it's been three weeks, and there's still no change."
"It's gonna take some time. What Kyra is feeling right now isn't going to change overnight….but with her family's support, she'll get better. She's a tough kid, deep down she knows there's a lot of people who love her and won't let this take control of her life."
"I can see it in her eyes….she's just gonna do what she wants, always has. I just hope an' pray that she makes the right decision this time."
Jack pulled her back into a hug and the tears that had been threatning to escape, made a silent trek down her cheeks. She grabbed a hold of his shirt, "I'm scared, Jack. I really am..."
"Mom? Are you awake?" Kyra asked, while slowly opening her mothers' bedroom door. It had been a month since Kyra had any real contact with any of her family members and it was around three in the morning, but Kyra had remembered that her mom said she was always there, no matter what the time was.
Reba stirred awake at the sound of her daughters voice, she thought for a second that she might be dreaming, "honey, what're you doing here? Not that I'm complainin'….but aren't you supposed to be in…."
"I snuck out," Kyra interrupted, "mom, I need to tell you something."
Reba was upset that Kyra had snuck out in the middle of the night when she was supposed to be getting help, but Kyra wanting to talk to her probably meant that she might be having some sort of breakthrough. She sat upright in bed and patted the spot in front of her. "I'm all ears."
Kyra sat down on the bed. "Mom, they took me back. Took me back to the place where it happened, took me back to lay flowers on his tombstone, took me back to see his parents. Mom, I'm so sorry for what I put you and everyone else through. Talking with his parents made me realize that I didn't want to be that selfish, I didn't….don't want to put you through what they have to deal with. It's so sad, Mom….they are so sad, but they are dealing with it. I know now that I have to too. I didn't see it before but I realize that life is hard sometimes, but you have to rise above it and it will make you stronger in the end."
Reba had tears glistening in her eyes by the time Kyra had finished talking and she threw her arms around her, "You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that, Kyra. I was so worried and scared for you….but I knew somewhere, deep down inside, that in the end you would've made the right choice."
"I think the biggest thing was going back to his grave. I got to say goodbye and realized it wasn't my fault. I got to let go and have some closure. They told me I'm not 100 percent better yet, but I'm making real progress now, and I'm on my way to recovery."
"I'm so happy for you," Reba choked, a few tears sliding down her cheeks.
"I just wanted to come tell you that... I was gonna wait until the morning, but I couldn't wait to tell you."
"I'm glad you didn't, that's the best news I've heard in a long time."
"Well, I should get back….before they find out I've escaped." Kyra joked, giving her mother a hug.
"I love you with all my heart, Kyra, an' don't you ever forget it."
"I know, Mom and I love you too." Kyra smiled on her way out the door.
Reba smiled back and dabbed at her eyes with a kleenex. She looked over at the portrait that sat on her bedside table. It was of Kyra when she was ten, on her new Christmas bike. Reba grabbed the picture and held it close to her heart. "Thank you, God. I have my daughter back."
Reba fell back asleep with the biggest smile on her face.
A/N: I need your help guys. I'm not sure if I should leave this as the last chapter or if I should write a nice happy epilogue. It makes sense to leave it like this. Let me know what you think.