Page 19 of Angels and Skulls
When I get to the bridge, I take a minute to reminisce over the day Lily pulled me over the edge. There’s no chance the dragonfly will be dropping off any angels today. I’m pretty sure that’s a one-time thing.
I look to the left, making eye contact with a young woman who looks about my age. We stare at each other for a long moment. We’re here to do the same thing.
“Jenny!”
I turn away from her at the sound of my name being called. Raffe’s wife is waving her arms wildly as she makes her way toward me. She’s the woman I chose to be the mother of my child.
My brain is so confused. How does she know my name?
She hurries forward, and it takes everything in me not to hurl myself over the railing. When she gets within arm’s reach, I begin to back away.
“Wait, please don’t go,” she pleads, stopping in her tracks to keep me from retreating more.
I watch as she tries to tame her wild hair as the wind gusts around her.
“How do you know me?” I ask.
“I saw you watching Raffe, and … I was in the restroom.”
Oh no. My heart starts to beat fast as I try to remember what I said as I splashed water on my face.
“But Iknowyou because my husband talks about you all of the time.” She scratches her head. “Um, I have a room. We could go there and visit,” she encourages.
My head falls back, and I stare at the clouds.Why do you always find a way to stop me?
Suddenly, screams break out around us as the young woman I saw earlier falls over the edge of the bridge. I rush to the railing and watch as the water violently swallows her body. It’s brutal. Not only does it steal the breath from her lungs, it also completely knocks the air out of mine. I double over, gasping.
Rachel wraps her arm across my shoulders. “Please let me help you,” she whispers.
I allow her to tug me away from the bridge.
Oh my god. That could have been me.
When we’re alone in her car, I begin to tremble from the shock of what I’ve just witnessed. I woke up this morning sure that my fate would be the same as that girl’s. But here I am … sitting with Raffe’s wife, safe in her car.
“I’m not sure if you came here to take your life, but if you did, that’s not the answer.”
I let out a rude little laugh. “And you think you’ve got a better one?”
She sits up straight and looks me in the eye. “Do you love your son?”
“He’syourson.” I turn away from her.
“Do you love him?”
“Yes.”
“Then stay for him.”
“He has you.”
“What if something happens to me? Then what?”
My head slowly turns back to her. “What do you mean?”
“What if I get in a car accident or get … sick?” She shrugs her shoulders.
I lay my head back. “Then he has Raffe and your family. I saw the photo in the file, remember? You have an entire club.”
