Page 61 of Montana Falls
There was a single beat of silence before my mother answered.
“You’re in that house?” She breathed roughly. “Are you okay there?”
“Yeah. We’re okay.” Tears burned in my eyes, proving me a liar. “It’s weird and I… I dunno. I just wanted to talk to you.”
“Misha.” She said my name softly, as I heard the sounds of classical music in the background, humming as loud as my pulse. “I’m so sorry, pet. I’m so, so, sorry.”
“You didn’t do anything.” The tears slid free. “You can’t help what happened.”
“I wish that was true.” She sniffled enough that I knew she was crying too. “He wasmyhusband, and I shouldn’t have let it happen. I should have kept him safe because you loved him, and you needed him.” She blew her nose before she sighed. “I’m never coming home. I can’t do it anymore.”
“I get it.” My throat got tighter as I wiped away tears with the back of my hand. “You need to heal, however that looks. I’m not going to hold it against you if you’d rather stay somewhere else.”
I wanted her with me. I needed her. But I would never say that to her face or on the phone. It was far easier to pretend that it didn’t cut me up like a knife each time she ignored my call, refused to see me, or did things like this, and insisted she was never coming back to our home.
“Your father got to look upon you as he died. I think he would have been happy with that – I know I would.” She said after a beat of silence. “Misha,” she said my name again, her voice a melancholic rasp, her accent thickening enough that it was almost hard to understand. “I love you. You know that, right? I love you. And that will never change.”
“I know.” I did know it, even if I wanted more from her that I couldn’t work out how to ask for. “I love you too… maybe we can get a coffee or something soon?.”
“I could meet you for a coffee later this afternoon.” She instantly replied. “Bring your girlfriend and we can go to that new place she owns in Hendrix City. I can deal with business and see you at the same time.”
I wanted to snort at the fact she’d called Sapphire my girlfriend, purely because it sounded so normal. I wasn’t going to see my grieving mother, to discuss how I felt after a now dead gang leader had murdered him with a bomb. And I wasn’t taking my gang leader girlfriend with me to a town that other gangster friends would one day rule…
It was just a boy and his girl, meeting his mother. That was it.
“I’d love to. We can come – say three? We can get afternoon tea like the English do.” A few cakes and things meant we would be together long enough for a real chat, and not just two sips of acoffee before she left again. “I can text you when we leave.” Only to confirm she was still coming, but I didn’t need to tell her that.
I didn’t want to annoy her into ghosting me again.
“That’s perfect.” I smiled at her words and the sincerity that shone through them. “I’ll see you later, Misha… I love you.”
“I love you too,” I wiped my eyes again, forcing deep breaths into my lungs, “bye, mom.”
A small piece of the weight on my chest lifted as I slid my phone back into my jeans. Not a lot. Miniscule, really. But it was enough for me to get back to my feet and join the others in the lounge, halfway through a conversation.
“You also can’t kill the entire O’Malley bloodline.” Lincoln sighed as he fiddled with a camp bed. “You won’t go after the kids – it’s not their fault who their parents are and you’re not that sadistic.”
“I am too sadistic.” Sapphire pouted as she placed blankets and cushions everywhere she could, forming a fort of some kind. “I could be a villain if I wanted to. But every time I try, you stop me from saying my monologue and being evil. Probably because you areEl Diabloand are scared that I am coming for your crown.”
My brows rose. “Are you arguing over murdering people?”
“The princess wants to hunt down the rest of the O’Malley’s to make sure that none of them are evil.” My brother drawled, a dark look in his eyes when he glanced my way. “I pointed out the flaws in her plan.”
I grabbed some more blankets off of the side, handing them over to Sapphire as I forced myself to pretend everything was fine and that I hadn’t still got damp lashes.
“When you’re done being a super great villain and can take a break, then I do think we should try camping. You’ll probably love it, and the woods are extra beautiful in summer.” I changed the subject off murder.
She thanked me with a soft smile. “What about a BBQ? I have not had one and I think to eat steak and things cooked like that would be a good time.”
I straightened up as Price came up from behind me and wrapped his arm around my waist. “We can have a BBQ and a big ass party in the woods, and sleep in a tent. Or maybe even just outside with a hammock and a sleeping bag. I think Mish is right, and you will love it.”
I wondered if he knew I was upset. Or that I’d been crying. Could he feel the tension in my bones? The stiffness to my posture?
Could he feel the grief and pain that had been slowly eating me alive since Elaina had kidnapped me and tortured me, and had been steadily getting worse?
“Can we do smores, Koko?” Sapphire grinned at Kody as he handed out bottles of beer and lemonade to go onto our rapidly growing snack pile.
“Sure, but it’s better if you do me.” He winked and took a seat with her. “I can even do roasted marshmallows fromhandmademarshmallows, not the nasty store bought kind.”
