Safe and Sound(45)

Blair got up and took the seat closest to Lola. She reached over and gripped Lola’s hand. “I’m so sorry you had to go through such horrible things, Lola. I…” She stopped, shook her head.

“You what?”

Her smile wobbled. “I just wish I could have been there for you. I wanted to be.”

Lola pulled her hand away. “Then why weren’t you? You’ve been in town almost as long as us. I’ve seen you around town throughout the years. You’ve even checked out in my lane at at work. You never once said anything to me, never gave me any idea you were my aunt. My father’s sister. Why?”

Blair didn’t speak for a long time. When she did, her voice was low, stricken. “When your father died, something happened to your mother, Lola. She just kind of…lost touch with reality.

“You were so sad, so confused about everything. You didn’t understand any of it; your father no longer being around, your mother’s indifference. I saw what it was doing to you. You needed your mother and she…it was so hard on her. It was too much.

“I offered to take you, to have you stay with me, just until your mother got better.” She took a shaky breath. “Lana lashed out at me, went hysterical. She thought I wanted to steal you away from her. She’d just lost your dad and I suppose the thought of not having you around was too unbearable for her, even if she couldn’t give you proper care. It didn’t matter to her. She wanted you with her, even if it was in your best interest not to be.

“Lola, she forbade me to see you, to talk to you, to have any kind of contact with you. She said if I didn’t stay away, the two of you would disappear and I’d never see you again, not ever. It greatly pained me, but I wanted what was best for you, I wanted to believe your mother was doing what she thought was in your best interest, for whatever reason. So I agreed.”

Tears streamed down her face, Blair seemingly unaware of them. “I moved here to at least be close to you, even if I couldn’t interact with you. I’ve tried talking to your mother throughout the years, tried to get her to see reason. She never relented, not once.

“It was so hard. Seeing you and not being able to tell you who I was, how much I wanted to know you. So many times I had to bite my tongue not to blurt out I was your aunt. You have no idea the restraint it took.” Blair took a shuddering breath.

“I don’t know what made her keep me away. Fear of losing you maybe. Maybe it was too hard to see me, a reminder of Ben. She loved him so much. Lana was a different person then, Lola.” She smiled sadly, swiped at her eyes with her hand.

“It seemed like she got better. Never the same, but a semblance of herself. She was a good mother to you, wasn’t she?” Blair took a deep breath. “Or am I wrong?”

Lola opened her mouth to speak, found she couldn’t. She cleared her throat and tried again. “I think she was. I remember her being a good mom, even though she always seemed a little sad. But then…she met Bob and everything changed. I didn’t know her anymore. I don’t know what happened, what changed. Why she let me be treated that way.” Lola blinked her eyes against tears.

“If I had known what was happening, nothing could have kept me away.” Blair lowered her head until she was at eyelevel with Lola. “Nothing, Lola.”

Lola’s lower lip quivered. She covered her face with her hands and wept, crying harder still when Blair’s hands came to rest on her shoulders, her cheek atop the crown of Lola’s head.

“I have some people that have been bugging me to see you, Lola. Are you up for a visit or would you rather it waits?” Blair rubbed her shoulder and gave it a squeeze, pulling away to see her face.

Lola wiped her eyes. “Who?”

“Well, there was this boy that stopped by when you were napping. He was very insistent I tell you to call him as soon as you woke up.”

Her stomach fluttered. “Jack?” she whispered.

“Tall, dark-haired, beautiful green eyes? He’s cute.” Blair smiled.

Lola felt her skin heat up.

“He your boyfriend?”

“I…don’t know.” She frowned. What were they? More than friends, definitely. But boyfriend and girlfriend? They’d never discussed it. That title didn’t seem to do their relationship justice.

“And this morning when I stopped at your house to pick up your things, another young man, equally cute, I might add, flagged me down and bombarded me with questions. His mother came outside to tell him to stop pestering me, and then she started.”

Blair chuckled. “Nice people. The mom is Dr. Jones, isn’t she?” Lola nodded. “She wants to come over sometime soon to see you. Her son said he was coming over either way, with or without his mom.” Blair paused. “You have a lot of people that care about you, Lola. I wish you would have reached out to one of them.”