Page 40 of Restless
“Fuck, I ain’t…I don’t know. She’s tossin’ and turnin’. Should I call the nurse?”
“Are her vital signs okay?”
Christopher glanced at the screen. They were still normal. “I-I think so, but fuck, Brooks, shit was normal the night she collapsed. How can I ever think she’s fine going forward? I thought it before and almost lost her.”
“Keep watch over her,” Brooks said quietly. “I’m sorry to have disturbed you, but Johnnie, er,Ithought it was important.”
Christopher nodded, though Brooks couldn’t see him. “You and John Boy handle it. I can’t be bothered right now.”
“We’ll take care of everything,” Brooks promised.
Megan shifted again. Christopher disconnected the call without another word.
Chapter Seven
“Mom, you have to eat.”
Instead of following Rory’s orders, his mother blinked, the same response she’d had the past three times he’d encouraged her to try her food.
“Daddy will come home, Momma,” Mattie said in a small voice. “He always does.”
Still staring at Dad’s empty chair, Mom started. “You called me ‘momma’, instead of ‘maman’,Mattie?”
Rory frowned. That’s what finally got a reaction from Mom?
“Oh, uh…” Looking from him to JJ and then to Mom, Mattie’s throat worked. “I-I—”
Mom squinted at Mattie. “What happened to your head, darling?”
“Um, I took a fall during cheer practice.”
She hadn’t gone to practice today.
Rory lifted a brow at his little sister’s lie, gritting his teeth when she scraped her fork tines over her dinner plate. Leaning back in his chair, he folded his arms and glared at her.
“Do you think CJ made it home?” JJ asked, no longer in tears but…affected. “Or, maybe, he went with Dad since CJ left not two minutes after Dad walked out.”
That was almost four hours ago. Somehow, Rory restored control. He’d ordered Mattie to bring Blade to Ella, promised JJ things were fine, and hugged his mother, comforting her as she’d sobbed as if her world was ending.
When his stomach growled, she’d ordered him to eat. Rory decided they all needed dinner. While JJ and Mattie warmed the food and plated their meals, Rory sat with their mother in the dining room. Watching her. Afraid to leave her alone. Wondering if he needed to hide the knives.
He’d never been so relieved to see his brother and sister when they arrived with the plates. Dad wasDad, and would take care of himself and eventually return, so Rory enjoyed his turkey lasagna. He’d need sustenance to take care of his mother. Thankfully, JJ emulated Rory, so he’d eaten, too. At almost eleven at night, Mattie took small bites; mostly, she pushed her food around on her plate.
Perhaps, it was because of Dad’s stunt.Orit was because she had fucking slop on her plate. Jury was out on that shit. Mom, though, hadn’t eaten. She’d barely moved. She’d sat in her armchair, at her end of the table, staring at Dad’s spot. Her tears had dried up, replaced by fear and worry.
“Suppose he doesn’t come home?” Mom whispered, her lips trembling.
Tears rushed to Mattie’s eyes, but she blinked them away, refusing to allow them to fall. “You’re a strong, independent woman, Momma. You’re…Maman. Flawed and imperfect, but perfect to me.”
Swiping at the tears sliding down her cheeks, Mom nodded.
Rory wanted to add to what Mattie said. Words jammed in his head and stuck in his throat. As furious as Dad made him, he couldn’t imagine a world without him. Mom was everything Mattie said, but Dad had learned to protect her and shield her. She’d learned toallowhim to protect and shield her.
“What sent your father into such a rage, Rory?”
“Some Pale Rider motherfucker,” Rory said in disgust. He needed to clean up the mess Dad made when he shot up that fucking mirror.
“P-Pale R-Rider?” Mattie squeaked.
