Page 100 of Severed Rivalry
No words. I have no words for my fucking life right now. “Hold on” is all I can muster. I mean it for my daughter, but also for myself, because we’re turning into Rosie’s driveway.
Her car is under the carport. Everything looks normal, except…
Except her back door is wide open.
“Stay in the car.” I’ve never heard Cian’s voice so harsh, not even when I told him about what I’ve been through. He exits thestill-running truck and walks quickly toward the house, peering in before crossing the threshold.
I’m holding my breath and only gasp when I see the screen on the dash light up with a call—an outgoing call to 911 before it shows the wordsCall moved to private,and I’m left in the dark.
Left sitting alone.
Left out of the loop.
Just fucking left.
Eventually, after several minutes, an ambulance comes screeching to a halt in front of Rosie’s place. The damn lights remind me of my own run-in just days ago.
Cian appears in the doorway and beckons the EMTs, waving me in at the same time.
It took all I had to sit there as long as I did, and I only managed it because I’m scared as fuck with so many moving parts spinning like tops around me. One wrong move, and the world comes crashing in on me… on us.
I slide out of the truck and yell “she’s allergic to latex” at the swarming team as I bob and weave around the stretcher and the paramedics to make it to Cian’s side. He wraps me up, my back to the room, and pulls me in tight.
“Angel,” he starts slowly.
I grip his shirt with both hands and tug. “What?”
“Rosie isn’t okay.”
For the second time in an hour, my legs lose their strength and buckle beneath me. Strong arms surround me and keep me upright.
He holds my gaze. “She’s unconscious. Do you have any idea what could have happened?
No. I shake my head quickly, not in answer to his question, but as if the idea doesn’t make any sense. “What? No.” I spin in his arms to find my mom—the mom of my heart—lying on the floor, her body at odd angles. The softness of her face and the lithe way she carries herself are missing.
I pull in his arms, straining to get away, but he holds fast, shaking me gently. “Sariah. Settle please.”
“Did you just tell me to calm down?” I glare at his handsome face.
“Baby, I need you focused.” He looks over my head before finding my face. “They’re working on her now. She’s alive. You and I can only get in the way. So I want you to put your attention where it can be of use. Tell me anything and everything that could have led to this. What are her habits?”
Peering to the side, I direct all my energy to what I can control. What comes from my mouth may be of use, or it may not, but it’s all I have and if any of it can save Rosie, I’ll spill it all.
29
unwrapped my gift
Cian
“She was an addict when she was young. Kicked everything. Became an addiction recovery counselor because she knew the brutality of addiction, what it took to be whole, without drugs and alcohol, and was willing to sit in the pit with those who were struggling. Randy was a saving grace for her, but he didn’t like her chosen profession. He felt it was too close to relivingthe thirstas he called it. He didn’t stop her, but if he were the stopping type, he would have.” She holds my eyes, before dropping her head to my chest.
“Losing him was a blow she wasn’t prepared for, and I worried about her, but she turned her focus to Renée and to me, and we all pushed through together as a family. He was a dad to me. She’s always been the only mom I’ll ever know. Mom, not mother—there’s a distinction.”
Yeah, I get that, but still, something doesn’t add up.
“Anyway, she goes to work, picks Née up from school, and spends time with us. She’s had that one seizure that I know of. Hate to say it, but the only place she could meet anyone that could do anything like this is at the rehab. She would tell me, wouldn’t she? If she were in danger?” Her grip on my shirt tightens and she yanks as if holding herself up or pulling me down. Both seem accurate.
I lift one of the hands I have wrapped around her to the backof her head and drop my voice. “I don’t know. But an addict would want drugs. Why would they be ransacking the place if there are none here to find?”
