Kayla did not sleep that night.
Neither did I.
At two in the morning, I heard footsteps in the hallway and found her sitting on the stairs with her phone glowing in the darkness.
“You should sleep.”
“So should you.”
“I was checking on you.”
She gave me a tired smile.
“I'm okay.”
“You're clearly not.”
She moved over, making room for me.
“I keep thinking about that message.”
“What did Lauren say?”
“Nothing else.”
“She hasn't answered?”
“She said she would talk tomorrow.”
I sat beside her.
“Then wait until tomorrow.”
“I hate waiting.”
“I know.”
She rested her head against the wall.
“What if Eric lied?”
“He may have.”
“What if he didn't?”
“He may not have.”
She looked at me.
“You're very helpful.”
“I’m trying not to tell you what to think.”
She smiled.
“That’s because you’re my sister.”
“Exactly.”
The following afternoon, Lauren agreed to meet Kayla.
Kayla asked me to come with her.
Andrew offered to drive us.
We declined.
This was something Kayla needed to face herself.
The café was nearly empty when we arrived.
Lauren was already sitting near the window.
She stood when she saw Kayla.
For a moment, neither woman spoke.
Then Lauren said, “You look exactly like the pictures.”
Kayla frowned.
“What pictures?”
“Eric's.”
That answer immediately changed the temperature of the conversation.
“You knew him?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Lauren sat down.
“We worked together for three years.”
Kayla remained standing.
“Did you have an affair?”
“No.”
The answer came so quickly that Kayla seemed caught off guard.
“Then why contact me?”
“Because he wasn't honest about why he left you.”
“What did he lie about?”
Lauren folded her hands.
“He told you he had been unhappy for two years.”
“Yes.”
“He was.”
Kayla waited.
“But?”
Lauren looked down.
“He was also sick.”
Kayla's expression changed.
“What do you mean?”
“He had been dealing with severe panic attacks.”
Kayla stared at her.
“He never told me.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Lauren continued carefully.
“He had them at work. Sometimes he'd have to sit in his car until he could breathe normally again.”
Kayla's eyes filled.
“I never knew.”
“He didn't want you to.”
“Did he see a doctor?”
“Yes.”
“Was it serious?”
Lauren shook her head.
“Not in the way you're thinking. But it frightened him.”
Kayla looked away.
“Then why did he tell me he didn't want our life?”
“Because he believed leaving was easier than admitting he wasn't okay.”
The words landed heavily.
Kayla's hands trembled.
“So he left me because he was scared.”
“Partly.”
“Partly?”
Lauren hesitated.
“He also felt that your relationship had become something neither of you knew how to change.”
Kayla closed her eyes.
That sounded painfully close to what Eric had told her.
“What else?”
Lauren looked toward the window.
“He told me you were planning everything around him.”
Kayla stiffened.
“What does that mean?”
“You were talking about marriage. Children. Buying a house.”
“Yes.”
“He said he couldn't breathe when he thought about the future.”
Kayla swallowed.
“I thought he wanted those things.”
“He probably did once.”
That answer hurt more than an accusation would have.
Kayla sat back.
“Why didn't he tell me?”
“I asked him that.”
“And?”
“He said he was ashamed.”
“Of what?”
“Of needing help.”
Kayla stared at her coffee.
The room seemed suddenly too quiet.
After a long pause, Lauren said, “There's something else.”
Kayla looked up.
“What?”
“Eric asked me not to contact you.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted you to hate him.”
Kayla frowned.
“Why would he want that?”
“Because he thought it would help you move on.”
Kayla laughed bitterly.
“That worked beautifully.”
Lauren lowered her eyes.
“I know.”
When we returned home, Kayla looked exhausted.
She sat on the couch while I made tea.
Andrew came in from work.
He took one look at her and knew something had happened.
“What did you find out?”
Kayla told him.
He listened without interrupting.
When she finished, he said, “That explains some things.”
“Does it?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
He sat across from her.
“You spent weeks trying to prove that Eric left because men can't be trusted.”
Kayla looked at him.
“And now?”
“Now you have a different possibility.”
She nodded.
“That he was scared.”
“Maybe.”
She frowned.
“You don't believe him?”
“I don't know him.”
“That’s fair.”
Andrew continued.
“And neither does Lauren completely.”
Kayla looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
“She told you what she knew.”
He leaned forward.
“That doesn't mean she knows everything.”
Kayla was quiet.
I knew what he was saying.
There was no reason to turn Lauren into a villain.
But there was also no reason to treat one person's account as absolute truth.
The next morning, Eric called.
Kayla stared at the phone until it stopped ringing.
Then it rang again.
She answered.
“Hello?”
I couldn't hear his voice.
Kayla listened.
Her expression shifted from surprise to confusion.
Then she stood.
“Where are you?”
She listened again.
“Why?”
Her eyes met mine.
“I don't understand.”
She walked toward the window.
“No, Eric. You're going to have to explain that.”
A pause.
Then her face went completely still.
“What do you mean you spoke to Amanda?”
I looked up.
“What?”
Kayla turned toward me.
Eric was still speaking.
She put him on speaker.
His voice came through quietly.
“I didn't want to involve her.”
I stared at the phone.
“You contacted my sister?” I asked.
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Because there was something I needed to tell her.”
Kayla stepped closer.
“What?”
Eric hesitated.
Then he said, “The reason I left wasn't only about me.”
Silence.
Kayla's face tightened.
“What does that mean?”
Eric exhaled.
“I found something out about your family.”
I looked at Kayla.
Her eyes widened.
“What family?”
“Yours.”
He paused.
“And I didn't know whether telling you would destroy you.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 7: Eric’s Warning Opened an Old Family Wound Kayla Had Never Known Existed, And Suddenly the Test She Put Andrew Through Looked Different
My Sister Arrived With Two Suitcases and a Broken Heart, But Within Days She Was Quietly Turning Our Home Into a Test I Never Agreed To
Part 6 of 12
