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"Cry for help" was shrink-speak for "suicide attempt" It wasn’t a cry for help Before Diana died, Eureka thought the world was an incredibly exciting place Her e walk hed louder and more often than anyone Eureka ever knew--and there were times that had embarrassed Eureka, but these days she found sheelse

Together they had been to Egypt, Turkey, and India, on a boat tour through the Galápagos Islands, all as part of Diana’s archaeological work Once, when Eureka went to visit herin northern Greece, they ht they were stuck for the night--until fourteen-year-old Eureka hailed an olive oil truck and they hitchhiked back to Athens She remembered her mother’s ar the pungent, leaky vats of olive oil, her low voice : "You could find your way out of a foxhole in Siberia, girl You’re one hell of a traveling coht of it often when she was in a situation she needed to get out of

"I’ to connect with you, Eureka," Dr Landry said "People closest to you are trying to connect with you I asked your stepmother and your father to jot down soe in you" She reached for a marbled notebook on the end table next to her chair "Would you like to hear theed "Pin the tail on the donkey"

"Your stepmother--"

"Rhoda"

"Rhoda called you ‘chilly’ She said the rest of the fa’ around you, that you’re ‘reclusive and is"

Eureka flinched "I am not …" Reclusive--who cared? But impatient with the twins? Was that true? Or was it another one of Rhoda’s tricks?

"What about Dad? Let uess--‘distant,’ ‘e "Your father describes you as, yes, ‘distant,’ ‘stoic,’ ‘a tough nut to crack’ "

"Being stoic isn’t a bad thing" Since she’d learned about Greek Stoicism, Eureka had aspired to keep her eh taking control of her feelings, holding them so that only she could see them, like a hand of cards In a universe without Rhodas and Dr Landrys, Dad’s calling her "stoic" ht have been a coh-nut phrase bothered her "What kind of suicidal nut wants to be cracked?" shefurther thoughts of suicide?"

"I was referring to the nuts," Eureka said, exasperated "I was putting myself in opposition to a nut who … Never mind" But it was too late She’d let the s-word slip, which was like saying "bo inside Landry

Of course Eureka still thought about suicide And yeah, she’d pondered other --not after Diana She’d once seen a show about how the lungs fill with blood before drowning victims die Sometimes she talked about suicide with her friend Brooks, as the only person she could trust not to judge her, not to report back to Dad or worse He’d sat on muted conference call when she’d called this hotline a few times He ht about it, so they talked a lot

But she was still here, wasn’t she? The urge to leave this world wasn’t as crippling as it had been when Eureka sed those pills Lethargy and apathy had replaced her drive to die

"Did Dad happen to mention I’ve always been that way?" she asked

Landry set her notebook on the table "Always?"

Now Eureka looked away Maybe not always Of course not always Things had been sunny for a while But when she was ten, her parents split up You didn’t just find the sun after that

"Any chance you could dash out a Xanax prescription?" Eureka’s left eardruain "Otherwise this sees You need to open up, not bury this tragedy Your stepmother says you won’t talk to her or your father You’ve shown no interest in conversing with me What about your friends at school?"

"Cat," Eureka said automatically "And Brooks" She talked to the in Landry’s seat, Eureka ht now

"Good" Dr Landry meant: Finally "Hoould they describe you since the accident?"

"Cat’s captain of the cross-country tea of the wildly mixed e, leaving the captain position open "She’d say I’ve gotten slow"

Cat would be on the field with the teah their drills, but she wasn’t brilliant at pep talks--and the tealanced at her watch If she dashed back as soon as this was over, she ht?