"Everything looks great. All the markers are normal." He nodded with satisfaction. "This baby is going to be perfectly healthy."
Agatha's face glowed with smugness. "Of course it will. I'm not like my sister, that useless waste who couldn't even keep a baby alive."
I didn't want to see them. I turned to leave, but walked right into them.
"Oh, sis! What are you doing here?" Agatha's voice dripped with mock concern. "Another allergic reaction? Or did you lose another baby?"
Her eyes landed on the worn knitted cap in my hands, and she snatched it away.
"God, how tacky."
"That's my aunt's hat. Give it back." My glare could have cut glass. I ripped it out of her grip.
Aunt Harriet had never had any use for either of them. She only tolerated them for my sake. After her accident left her in a wheelchair, neither of them had visited her once.
Agatha and Frederick exchanged a glance, taking a long moment before they even realized who I was talking about.
"Oh, that crippled old woman?" A cruel smile played across Agatha's lips. "She's still alive?"
"Your aunt was never exactly pleasant, Libby." Frederick reached for my arm. "You should stop wasting your time on that dead weight and come home."
I wrenched free of his hand, spun around, and slapped Agatha across the face. Hard. Again. And again.
Everyone froze. The woman who had always been gentle and composed was now striking with everything she had.
"If you ever insult my aunt again, next time it won't be your face I go after."
Agatha shrieked that I'd lost my mind and lunged at me. I sidestepped at the last second and she flew past, slamming face-first into the wall.
"You bitch!" Agatha howled, blood streaming from her nose as she clutched her face.
Frederick looked between the two of us, both burning with fury, and realized nothing he said would make a difference. He grabbed Agatha and hauled her away.
I looked down at my stinging palm, and for the first time in a long time, something inside me unclenched.
The test results finally came back. The doctor's hesitant expression made my blood run cold.
They'd found a tumor. Aunt Harriet needed surgery immediately. The success rate was high, but the cost was staggering.
She must have known for a while. She hadn't wanted to burden me, and that was why she'd let it go this long.