Chapter 2 - The Trash CanThe room went silent.
Diane blinked.
“What did you say?”
Ethan set the television cord on the table.
“I said your comfortable life ends tonight.”
Vanessa sat up.
“Seriously?”
Ethan looked at Olivia’s mother.
“Where are her pills?”
Diane’s expression changed.
Not fear.
Annoyance.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake. Those?”
“Yes. Those.”
“They made her nauseous.”
“Her doctor prescribed them.”
“I’m her mother.”
“And I’m her husband.”
Courtney laughed under her breath.
Bad choice.
Ethan turned.
“You find something funny?”
She looked away.
Diane stood.
“You come home exhausted and suddenly decide we’re abusing Olivia because she washed a few dishes?”
“A few?”
He pointed toward the kitchen.
“Get up.”
“What?”
“All of you.”
Nobody moved.
Ethan’s voice dropped.
“Now.”
He led them into the kitchen.
The counters were buried.
Trash overflowed.
The stove was greasy.
On the pantry floor sat grocery bags Olivia had apparently carried inside herself.
Ethan opened the trash can.
Near the bottom, beneath coffee grounds and paper towels, he saw a prescription bottle.
Empty.
He pulled it out.
Olivia covered her face.
Diane sighed.
“I poured them out.”
Ethan stared at her.
“You what?”
“She was obsessing over every symptom. I told her she needed to stop living like a patient.”
Dr. Patel was still on speaker.
His voice came through the phone.
“Mr. Carter?”
Everyone froze.
“Yes?”
“Your wife needs to be evaluated tonight.”
Diane went pale.
Ethan looked at Olivia.
“We’re going to the hospital.”
Olivia whispered:
“I don’t want Mom angry.”
Ethan turned toward Diane.
“She doesn’t get to be angry.”
Then he looked at the sisters.
“Pack a bag.”
Vanessa stood.
“You’re kicking us out?”
“For tonight.”
“This is Mom’s family.”
“No.”
Ethan’s voice hardened.
“This is Olivia’s home.”
Diane folded her arms.
“You really want to humiliate your wife’s family over a bottle of pills?”
Ethan held up the empty prescription bottle.
“No.”
He looked at Olivia.
“I want to know what else you’ve done.”
May you like
Olivia’s eyes dropped.
That told him there was more.
Related Stories
