All Adam knew was that something had happened with Kaylie. Claire had yet to tell him what it was, but by the sound of urgency in her voice and the way she was dragging him through the school by his wrist, he knew it was something big.
"Claire, I'm sure Eli didn't go far. He probably went to blow off some steam of something." Adam reassured her, but Claire was in too much of a hurry to listen.
"You didn't see his face Adam. You didn't see her face. Eli was so upset, especially when Simpson made him take Kaylie to the nurse's office, and no one's seen him since."
"He's around here somewhere, don't stress out so much."
Claire stopped so suddenly that it made Adam run right into her back. She turned around sharply, "Kaylie just had a meltdown in the hallway. She smashed a mirror and nearly flooded the bathroom and now I can't find Eli! So excuse me for being a little bit stressed!" Claire ranted.
Adam's face softened but he said nothing and followed Claire out the door.
They rounded the corner and found Eli sitting alone on the steps.
"Eli! Thank god!" Claire sighed in relief, "We've been looking everywhere for you"
Eli showed no sign of hearing her. He just gazed blankly into the distance. Claire and Adam sat down on either side of him.
" Kaylie's going to be fine." Claire promised.
Eli half laughed, "Kaylie's never been fine Claire. She never was and she never will be…she's sick" No one said anything so Eli continued, "She has a severe mood disorder which makes her get overwhelmed by even the tiniest things, and she suffers from frequent panic attacks. That's a toxic mix by any standard. It wasn't always this bad though, she used to have it under control, but last year she started to take a turn for the worst so I had to admit her into a mental hospital."
"You told us she was at your Aunt's house." Adam pointed out.
"Well I lied… I thought that if I could keep Kaylie under control than nobody would have to know she was sick." He turned his face away from theirs, "I didn't want anyone to treat her differently just because she has a few problems. It's not her fault! She didn't choose to be this way…" he threw his hands up angrily, "People don't seem to understand that."
Claire placed a comforting hand on Eli's shoulder, "That must be really hard on both of you." Than she retracted her hand shamefully, " I can't say that I didn't suspect this though…I kind of walked in on Kaylie throwing a tantrum in the girl's bathroom."
"And you didn't tell me!"
Claire shrunk back into her shoulder like a turtle in its shell, " I wanted to, but Kaylie made me promise not to say anything."
"Well it doesn't matter now anyway," Eli said, resting his head in his hands, "The school is probably going to recommend that we hospitalize her again."
"Maybe that would be for the best." Adam commented.
Eli looked at him furiously, "I haven't seen my sister in over a year! The only hospital that would take her is over three hundred miles away and if she goes back there it's likely that I'll never see her again!" Eli fumed. He took a deep breath and recollected himself, "She's my sister. She just got home…I can't loose her too."
Before anyone else could speak, a black car pulled up in front of them and a man with combed black hair and oval glasses hopped out of the drivers seat. It was the man that Adam and Claire had come to recognize as Eli's dad.
"One thing! I ask you to do one simply thing for me Eli and you manage to mess it up!" He shouted at his son, " I told you to watch out for your sister and keep her safe!"
"I have kept her safe!" Eli replied, standing up with rage.
"Oh really, than why did I get a phone call from the principle telling me to come pick Kaylie up from the nurse's office? Go ahead Eli, explain that to me."
But Eli said nothing. His dad flashed him a deadly grin, "That's what I thought." Then he stepped aside and entered the school.
"Your dad has no right to talk to you like that!" Adam protested.
Eli sat back down, "He's just been angry at me ever since I had Kaylie admitted to the hospital. I guess you could say he's in denial about my sister. He always thought that she would wake up one day and be back to her old self. He refused to accept that she had gotten too difficult to handle, so I sent her away without his permission…he had a right to be angry."
"Don't worry," Said Adam. " My mom always told me that things get worse before they get better and I think it's safe to say that the worst is over."
Claire nodded in agreement. Little did they know that the worst was still yet to come…
A/N: This chapter didn't have any action, but I thought I needed it in order to clarify things a bit before going into the next chapter, which will be far more intense. But don't worry, this isn't going to turn into a child abuse story if that's what your thinking. Haha.
Please leave reviews and constructive criticism! Thanks a lot!