Lies Never Sleep

by Stacy Claflin

  The whole scene replayed before she snapped out of it and grabbed the phone, nearly dropping it again.

  She went to her texts, debated which daughter to message first, then decided on Scarlet. She was more likely than Violet to hold herself together.

  Lila: Where are you and Violet?

  Scarlet: School.

  Lila: You need to get your sister and head to the hospital.

  Scarlet: What? Why?

  Lila: I’ll explain everything when you get there.

  Scarlet: Is it Atlas? Is he OK?

  Lila: Just get there. Are you okay to drive?

  Scarlet: Mom! Don’t do this to me! What’s going on?

  Lila: There was an accident. Dad’s in the hospital. He’s going to be OK.

  Scarlet: What??

  Lila: I’ll explain when you two get there. I have to go.

  Scarlet: He’s going to be OK?

  Lila: Yes, I promise.

  She hoped that was a promise she could make good on.

  Knock, knock!

  “I’m coming!” Lila stuffed the phone into her purse and hurried for the door.

  An officer stood at the door. “Is everything all right, ma’am?”

  “As much as it can be.” Lila frowned. “Am I free to go to the hospital now?”

  She nodded. “Your neighbor is going to drive you?”

  “Yes, I’m going now.”

  “Okay, good. We’ll be in touch.”

  “Thanks.”

  They walked out to the street, where more police had gathered.

  Zion crossed the street. “Are you ready?”

  Lila nodded. “But maybe I should drive. How am I going to get back?”

  “I’ll stay as long as you need me to, or I can leave and return. Or someone else can drive you back. It’ll work out.”

  She remembered the twins were heading to the hospital. “Okay. I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem.” He walked over to his car and held open the passenger door for her.

  The ride to the hospital was in silence. Lila’s mind spun as she tried to make sense of everything. She almost wondered if things could get any worse but didn’t dare ask that question. Things could always get worse. And at this point, she didn’t want to know how that could happen.

  “We’re here.”

  Lila followed Zion, letting him ask questions to find out where Morgan was. She could barely think, much less ask strangers coherent questions.

  They ended up in the waiting room at the ER. Lila texted Scarlet, so the girls would know to go directly there.

  Zion sat next to her. “At least Morgan’s almost ready for visitors. He didn’t even need surgery.”

  “Just stitches,” Lila repeated what the nurse at the desk had told them. She should’ve felt better than she did, but if he was doing so well, why couldn’t she go in to see him right away?

  Violet and Scarlet entered the waiting room, looking around wildly.

  “Over here,” Zion called.

  The twins ran over.

  “What’s going on?” Scarlet asked.

  “What happened?” Violet sat next to Lila.

  Zion looked at Lila. “Do you want to tell them, or should I?”

  Lila rubbed the back of her head, where a sharp headache was forming. “You can tell them.”

  He gave a little nod before turning to the girls. “There was a shooting.”

  Scarlet gasped and covered her mouth.

  “What?” Violet jumped from her chair.

  Zion motioned for Violet to sit back down. “Your dad tried to call the cops, but the bullet grazed his arm. He got some stitches, and he’s almost ready to see you three.”

  Tears shone in Scarlet’s eyes. “So he’s okay?”

  Lila held her hand. “Yes. We just have to wait to see him.”

  “How long?” Violet looked toward the reception desk.

  “They say not long,” Zion said.

  “What does that mean?” Scarlet asked.

  Lila squeezed her hand. “It means we wait.”

  Violet wiped her eyes. “Why did this have to happen now? I was already barely holding it together with Emmett and Atlas being gone.”

  Zion put his hand on her shoulder. “It’ll all work out.”

  “Will it? Really? How do you know?” She glared at him.

  “Violet!” Lila exclaimed. “Be nice. He’s done nothing but help, and he’s dealing with Emmett being gone, too.”

  “So am I!”

  Lila took a deep breath and turned to Zion. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine. Maybe I should get home and check on Rowena. She was sleeping when I left. Out like a rock because of the sleeping pills. Let us know if you need a ride home.”

  “We drove,” Scarlet said.

  Lila thanked Zion for everything as he left, then turned to Violet. “How could you act like that? He’s done nothing other than help, even though he has his own stuff to deal with.”

  She folded her arms. “I don’t need anyone going all Pollyanna on me. We don’t know that everything will be okay, Mom! Two missing kids and now this, Dad shot. What’s next?”

  “Don’t ask that.” Scarlet glared at her.

  Lila put a hand on each girl’s arm. “We need to stick together, now more than ever. Dad needs us.”

  Violet scowled. “Oh, now you’re worried about him?”

  Lila pulled her hand away. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Exactly like it sounds. You two have been fighting ever since Atlas and Emmett went missing.”

  Scarlet leaned closer. “To be fair, they were arguing all the time before they disappeared.”

  “Thanks.” Lila frowned.

  Scarlet gave her an apologetic glance. “I was trying to help by saying this isn’t something new.”

  Lila took a deep breath. “Look girls, Dad and I have some issues to work through, but we’ll get through it. We love each other, and that’s enough.”

  Violet crossed her arms. “Doesn’t seem like it to me.”

  “We do. Today made it clear. When the bullets were flying, I ran out to your father despite that fact. Then your dad protected me so I wouldn’t get hit. We both realized in that moment how we felt. What was important.”

  “It took him getting shot for you to figure that out?” Violet glared at her. “Atlas going missing wasn’t enough?”

  Lila counted to ten under her breath. “Judge me after you know what we’ve been dealing with. I think you’ll understand then. Although, I have to admit that now it doesn’t seem as big a deal as it did before.”

  “Lila James,” called a nurse. “You can come back now.”

  Her stomach tightened.

  18

  Dr. Morgan James

  * * *

  The door opened, and in walked Lila and the twins. Morgan had never been happier to see them. The only thing that could’ve made the moment better was if Atlas was there with them.

  He smiled, pushing past the pain in his arm despite the medication. He was just glad it hadn’t gone any deeper.

  “Daddy!” Violet ran to him first and threw her arms around him.

  Scarlet ran over to the other side and clung to him.

  Morgan wrapped his arms around them and exchanged a smile with Lila. She was more beautiful than she’d been in a long time.

  “Are you okay?” Scarlet asked.

  He winced as she accidentally bumped the gauze covering his stitches. “It’s just a flesh wound.”

  They shared a small laugh over the movie reference.

  Lila sat on the end of the bed and rested her hand on his knee. “How are you, really?”

  “A lot better than I would be if that woman had been a better shot.”

  She squeezed his knee and gave him a sad smile. “Can I get you anything?”

  “No. I feel better just having you guys here.”

  Violet frowned. “It’d be better if Atlas was here, though.”

 
He nodded. “No denying that. Any news on him since I’ve been in here?”

  Lila shook her head. “Not that we’ve heard, anyway.”

  Morgan struggled to sit a little higher. “I’ll have to get out of here so I can get back to looking for him.”

  Scarlet kissed his cheek. “No, you just rest. We’ll keep looking. Don’t worry about it.”

  “You have enough on your plate with school.”

  Violet shrugged. “The teachers have given us extensions on everything. They don’t expect us to get anything done.”

  “Still, I don’t want you to fall behind.”

  “Our brother is missing,” Scarlet said. “It’s inevitable.”

  Morgan nodded, trying to ignore the pain in his heart. “I know. That’s why I haven’t been in to work the last two days. There’s no way I could do my job right now.”

  Violet leaned her head against his. “Can I ask you something?”

  “You just did.”

  She groaned. “Seriously.”

  “Shoot.”

  Lila gasped.

  “Sorry. Too soon.” Morgan rubbed his gauze. “Ask away, Violet.”

  “What have you and Mom been fighting about?”

  Lila glared at her. “Violet! Now’s hardly the time.”

  Morgan’s pulse raced at the thought of admitting his lie to the girls. He took a deep breath. “It’s okay. They need to know.”

  “But now?”

  Morgan lowered his gaze and nodded, shame squeezing him. He forced himself to look up and into the eyes of both of his daughters. “I’ve kept something from all of you for a long time.”

  Scarlet bit her lip. “What is it?”

  Violet clung to his arm. “Yeah, what?”

  He glanced over at Lila.

  Her eyes filled with sadness. “Do you want me to tell them?”

  Morgan took a deep breath. “No, this is something I need to do.”

  “What haven’t you told us?” Scarlet asked.

  His heart skipped a beat. “I never should’ve kept this to myself. I realize that now.”

  Silence hung in the air.

  Morgan searched for the right words. But there were none. Nothing to soften the blow. No way to ensure they wouldn’t hate him. The only thing going in his favor was that he’d just been shot. Once that healed, would everything unravel?

  “What is it?” Violet leaned forward. “Did you kill someone?”

  He snapped his attention toward her. “No, I haven’t killed anyone!”

  “Then tell us. I can’t take the suspense.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to do.” Morgan closed his eyes for a moment, then he looked each girl in the eye. “I was married before, and I never told Mom. There was a baby, but he died. That’s what led to my divorce. It was too painful for either of us to deal with, and I never wanted to talk about it again. Never wanted to think about it. But I should’ve known better. Things like this don’t stay hidden forever.”

  Scarlet stumbled back. “We… we had another brother?”

  “Half-brother,” Lila corrected.

  Morgan nodded.

  “What was his name?” Violet asked.

  “Morgan.”

  “You were really never going to tell us?”

  He shook his head. It felt like the room was closing in on him. “No, I didn’t think it would affect any of you. He’s gone. And I’ll never see my ex again.”

  “What’s her name?” Scarlet asked.

  “I don’t want to know!” Lila jumped up. “I’m not ready for these details. Not now. Not with everything else going on. You two know the secret, now let’s move on and focus on Atlas.”

  “Move on?” Violet looked at her like she was crazy. “We just found out about a brother we never knew existed!”

  Lila rubbed her temples. “I can’t take this. I’m going to get a coffee. You two ask Dad all the questions you want. I need some air.”

  “Wait.” Morgan struggled to sit up taller. “Girls, why don’t you get Mom that coffee? We need to talk, then I can answer all your questions.”

  Violet gasped. “Seriously? You want us to find a coffee stand at a time like this?”

  “I need to talk to your mom. Alone.”

  “Whatever.” Violet marched out the door.

  Scarlet glanced at him. “I’ll talk to her.” She raced after her sister.

  Morgan reached for Lila. “I’m really sorry I brought all this on you, now of all times. If you need space to figure out what you want to do, then I understand. I’ll keep sleeping in the guest room, or I’ll find somewhere else to stay. I should’ve told you about everything before we got engaged.” An overwhelming guilt stung him and squeezed his entire body. “I was a coward. I thought I was protecting myself, but I wasn’t.”

  Tears shone in her eyes. She held his gaze for a moment before scooting closer and taking his hand. “You’re not a coward. I have no idea what I’d do in a similar situation. I feel like I’m going to die with Atlas being gone and not being able to do anything about it. Actually losing a child… I don’t want to think about it, either. I can’t imagine what you went through.”

  Gratitude washed through him. He pulled her close and gave into silent tears. “It was hell, that’s all I can say. I didn’t know how to handle it, so I threw myself into school. Thought delivering babies would help. It did, mostly. But every time something goes wrong and the baby doesn’t make it…” He shuddered. “It’s like reliving Morgan’s death all over again.”

  She sat back and looked him in the eyes, then she wiped away his tears. “I’ve always been here for you. That isn’t changing. You can talk to me about this any time.”

  More tears threatened. “Lila, I’m really so sorry. I hate that I kept this from you, and that it pushed us away from each other.”

  “Let’s just move past this. You told me—that’s the important thing. I may not be ready to hear about your ex-wife yet, but you can talk to me about the baby. Get it all out when you need to. We’ll focus on healing and on finding Atlas. We’ll get through this together.”

  He swallowed, choking back the next round of tears. A range of emotions swirled around, mostly relief. Lila would’ve had every reason to walk away, but she was choosing to stay with him and work it out despite his monumental lapse in judgment.

  “We’ve got four coffees!” The twins stood in the doorway, each holding two paper cups. They brought them over and handed one to Morgan and Lila.

  Scarlet sipped hers. “Did we give you enough time?”

  “I think so,” Lila said. “Thanks for giving us a little space to talk.”

  “Did you work everything out?” Violet sat in the chair next to the bed.

  “You think five minutes is enough to work out years of issues?” Scarlet glared at her sister. “Have a little tact.”

  Lila put her hand on Scarlet’s arm. “It’s okay. We had enough time to talk. We’ll need to talk more later, there’s no denying that, but for now, we’re good.”

  “Really?” both girls asked.

  It never failed to amaze Morgan how often they either said the same thing at the same time or they finished each other’s sentences. As different as they were, they were almost the same person.

  “Really.” Morgan nodded. “I’m lucky your mom is so forgiving. Keeping secrets from family is never a good idea.”

  “True.” Violet set her cup down. “If Atlas would’ve told any of us where he was going, he might just be home right now. Did they ever find anything at the old asylum?”

  Morgan’s stomach lurched. He and Lila exchanged a glance.

  Violet swore. “What’s the matter.”

  “Language,” Lila reminded her.

  “Mom, really.” Violet rolled her eyes. “You’re worried about me swearing right now?”

  “What did they find?” Scarlet asked.

  Morgan took a deep breath. He needed to tell the girls. Lila was already dealing with so much. “They found Emmet
t’s jacket. It was torn. So, we know he was there. The assumption is Atlas was there, too.”

  Violet jumped from the seat, her eyes wild. “Emmett’s jacket was ripped? Which one?”

  “The leather one with the white inside.”

  “No!” Violet pulled on her hair. “He’d never leave that anywhere! Not on purpose. Something has to be wrong. Really wrong.” She crumpled onto the chair and cried.

  Scarlet ran over and comforted her.

  Lila turned to Morgan. “I didn’t realize she was so close with Emmett.”

  “Me, neither.” Morgan felt like he didn’t know any of his kids any more. Atlas and the teacher. Now Violet and Emmett—he’d thought Emmett had been seeing another girl. What was Scarlet hiding?

  Lila made her way to the other side of the bed and joined the twins.

  Exhaustion swept through him. He reached for the tray and set his coffee cup down. Pain radiated out from his wound. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something positive. Lila and the girls. They knew his secret, and none of them held it against him. Atlas had been pissed when he’d found out, but mostly because Morgan had insisted on keeping it from Lila and his sisters.

  Morgan’s secret had caused so much anguish. Maybe Atlas wouldn’t have gone missing if Morgan had handled the whole situation better. He might’ve stayed home that night instead of following Emmett on one of his foolish escapades that tended to get the friends in trouble. Brielle was usually right alongside them, but had been smart enough to sit this one out.

  “Oh, look. Daddy’s asleep.”

  Morgan tried to open his eyes, but his heavy lids wouldn’t cooperate. He was walking the line between being awake and asleep.

  “Let’s let him get his rest. He obviously needs it.”

  They each kissed him, then left quietly. Morgan wanted to open his eyes to say goodbye, but couldn’t. He drifted off to sleep.

  Footsteps woke him. He didn’t feel particularly rested. How long had he been asleep? Probably not long, given how many disruptions there are in hospitals. It was probably another nurse checking on his vitals.

  Morgan tried to open his eyes, and this time managed to open one. Then the other.

  It wasn’t a nurse entering the room.