Free The Missing Year by Belinda Frisch

the favor because they need to believe they like the person asking.
    In Lila’s case, Ross wanted her to talk to him, to open up, and to eat something before she starved to death. He called for Eddie to meet him outside her room with a lunch tray and was pleased to find the bespectacled redhead waiting for him when he arrived.
    “Lunch is served,” Eddie said, handing off the tray with a smile. “Good luck getting her to eat it.”
    “Thanks.” Ross balanced the uneven weight and knocked on Lila’s partially closed door.
    The rooms at Lakeside were single occupancy. The stark white paint job and pale bedding were similar to the hospital rooms Ross was used to, but the atmosphere was more homelike. Built in furniture lined the left hand wall. Bookshelves, a dresser, and desk were all fixed in place without handles as a safety precaution. A neatly made platform bed sat in the center of the room, Lila’s crocheted blanket folded at the foot of it.
    “Hello,” Ross said.
    Lila faced out the window with the familiar distant gaze. Her dark hair had been brushed back from her face and tied into a loose braid that emphasized the hollowness in her cheeks. Fine lines worked their way from the outside corners of her blue eyes and her stare fixed on something in the distance.
    “Lila, do you remember me? We met this morning. My name’s Dr. Ross Reeves, but you can call me Ross if you’d like.” He set the tray on the table next to her and lifted the plastic lid off lunch, a pallid turkey and cheese on white bread and some chips. He poured out a foil-sealed apple juice into a Styrofoam cup. “Do you mind if I sit with you for a minute?”
    Nothing about her expression said he was welcome or otherwise.
    Ross sat in a chair facing her. “It’s a beautiful day.”
    Lila blinked.
    “Fall has always been my favorite season. What’s yours?”
    If their meeting was a cartoon, the soundtrack would be crickets.
    Ross looked out the window. “You have a nice view from here, huh?”
    Lila pushed the tray of food away and went to sit on her bed. She picked up a book off her nightstand and began reading.
    Ross sighed.
    It was time to employ the Ben Franklin.
    Ross moved the food tray to within Lila’s reach, dragged his chair to her bedside, and threw himself at her mercy.
    “Lila, I need to ask you a favor.”
    She glanced over the top of her book and returned to her reading.
    “Since I’m new here,” Ross spoke softly, “on a probationary period, so to speak, it would look good for me if I got you to eat. Not a lot if you don’t want to, but something. You’d really be helping me out.”
    Lila’s eyes moved back and forth across the page, offering no indication that she planned to do as he asked or not.
    “A bite or two? Maybe? It would prove to Dr. Oliver that he made the right decision bringing me here.”
    Nothing.
    “I understand. You don’t owe me anything. I’ll leave you to your reading.” Ross stood to leave, only looking back when he was about to enter the hallway.
    Lila turned the page of her book, glanced in his direction, and reached for the sandwich.

CHAPTER TWENTY
     
    The first day had gone better than expected. Getting Lila to eat reminded Ross that he needed food back at the motel. The nearest grocery store with any selection was twelve miles away, in Lake Placid, not far from his hometown. As he arrived, he realized he probably should have waited until the evening rush died down.
    The supermarket plaza bustled.
    Ross circled the parking lot twice before finding a spot and was about to get out of the car when his cell phone rang, the number on the caller ID causing him to momentarily hold his breath.
    Mattie.
    It had taken her almost exactly forty-eight hours to either notice he was gone, or to cool off enough to want to talk to him.
    Ross had left Chicago without telling her where he was headed or why. Now that he was there, he wasn’t sure he could make her believe it wasn’t to do with Sarah.