Hades Ain't Got Nothing on Us

Ch. 15 - Relapse

It was dusk when Rob finally returned from his failed expedition. Against his hopes, Allison was waiting for him in the kitchen. She stirred her iced tea nonchalantly.

"That was a curt exit this morning."

"I was in a hurry."

Rob opened the fridge, pretending to be in careful selection of the evening's provender. In reality, food held no appeal for him.

"Your secret mission doesn't seem to have done anything to your mood. I was starting to worry, since you never called."

"No reception."

He chuckled mirthlessly. It was the same excuse he'd used to defend Sephy's lack of contact.

"Where did you go anyway?"

"Leo sent me to the park, to talk to Sephy."

"I assume you found her then. Six hours of fruitless searching doesn't make for a happy story."

"Brace yourself, if that's what you're expecting."

Allison looked more worried.

"You didn't find her," she deduced.

"I found her all right. Evidently, you were right. She was deliberately avoiding me, to give me time after the whole dying thing before she kicked me to the curb."

"I hoped I wasn't right about that."

"In all fairness, you tried to warn me."

"What is the deal then? She doesn't want to be friends because you have a weak heart?"

"The friendship has always been complicated, and so were her reasons for wanting to end it. She sys it is for my benefit, and I believe her intentions are good. Unfortunately, she doesn't understand as much as she thinks she does, and she refuses to let me have a say in the matter."

"Maybe you should take the opportunity and move on. I liked her, but lately her behavior has been so bizarre. Now she won't be your friend? Who does she think she is?"

"When it comes down to it, it's her life. She can be friends with whomever she wants. I'm not going to force her to hang out with me. By Friday, she'll be thousands of miles away, in Patagonia. Until then, your mission, Allison Nellie Manthorne, if you choose to accept it, is to keep me away from her. Don't let me try to call her or see her. I'm going to honor her wishes and let her leave peacefully."

"But you love her. I know you do."

"That's why I'll let her go. She's made up her mind. I won't make it any harder on her."

Allison could not believe the coward her brother had become. Gone was the spontaneous, romantic man Sephy had brought out in him. He'd reverted to the lonely shell he'd been in years past. She watched him remove a box of old takeout from the fridge, and shrivel into the recess of the family sectional. He didn't bother to warm it in the microwave.

It pained Allison to watch Rob during the subsequent days. Once again, he rarely left his room, where he was listening to doleful acoustic ballads day and night, the kind that only played on broken hearts radio. When he did emerge from hibernation, it was to stare catatonically to the Northeast, until he could no longer see Pacific Palisades under cover of darkness. Allison observed him in his doorway, trying to remember how his favorite shirt looked when it was freshly laundered.

"You never sing anymore."

"I guess not."

"But you love it, and your music was becoming so amazing."