Conrad sank back on the couch. “I’m so glad to hear that. The last time she called me was a few weeks ago. She didn’t know where she was, crying, begging me to come get her. I’ve done that too many times to count. I told her no, but I felt so guilty. We haven’t been together in a long time. We’re so over, but she still calls me, and it still hurts. Did I do the right thing? Because I keep thinking that maybe I should have picked her up.”

Olivia had read study after study on addiction, on enabling addicts, and still didn’t know what to do about her sister. Marley had always been like sunshine breaking through on a stormy spring day. Though she could be a pill, her sister made people smile, laugh, believe in fairies and Santa Claus. Inquisitive, whimsical, and prone to making up lots of stories, Marley had always been more vulnerable to pain, hurt, and injustice than the rest of their family. Marley was more than an empathizer—she seemed to eat others’ pain, taking it in and maybe holding on to it too long. “At some point we have to practice self-care.”

Even as she said those words, something niggled in her conscience. Marley had told Olivia about doing better, feeling hopeful, and then she’d asked if Olivia would loan her enough money to pay rent. Olivia had gone from feeling buoyant that her sister wanted to change to annoyed. She’d gone down the “just until I get my next gig” path too many times before, so she told her that she couldn’t loan her money this time. Marley would have to figure out how to deal with her life on her own.

Marley hadn’t gotten mad. She said that she understood and would figure it out. Olivia had hung up feeling guilty but resolved. Still, she understood how Conrad felt.

“So you think she’s okay?” Conrad looked worried, and something in that expression irritated Olivia. He’d spent years pining for Marley, and then once she was old enough to take notice of him, he’d taken her around to parties with filmmakers and directors, launching her into acting, introducing her to the lifestyle that brought her to where she was. He’d made Marley his girlfriend, and even when she hadn’t wanted him anymore, he’d still been there for her, waiting for the dregs of Marley’s affection like a loyal spaniel.