Page 89 of Monster Among the Roses (Fairy Tale Quartet 1)

I hugged her back, even though I couldn’t take my gaze away from the empty hospital bed.

“Where’s Mom? What happened?” I hadn’t been gone that long. Half a day. She’d been fine last night when I’d sat with her. We’d watched Wheel of Fortune together and laughed over some of the words we’d come up with to try to solve the puzzles. She’d been smiling, and her face had some color back in it.

She’d been fine.

“They found a blood clot.” Alice hiccupped and pushed some tears off her cheek. “A bad one. It was getting too close to her heart, so she went back into surgery.”

“Surgery,” I repeated, my skin prickling and then chilling with the strangest sensation. Relief and yet fear flooded me. “So she’s still alive?”

“Hollander?” a man in blue scrubs asked, glancing hesitantly into the room.

“Here.” Alice and I pulled apart to face him. “Is our mom okay?”

He blinked once, then said, “I’m sorry. No. She didn’t make it.” He went on to explain more. But I didn’t hear a thing after she didn’t make it.

It didn’t seem real.

My mother was dead.

chapter

TWENTY-SEVEN

Three days passed.

They were a complete blur as if they flew by at warp speed, and yet each hour, minute and second ticked along too slowly for me to handle. Time was so messed up.

I was messed up.

It was hot, dry, and sunny when we buried Mom. Amazingly, all five of her children made it to the service. I don’t know how Alice found them, but they filed into the cemetery just in time for the final farewell to begin. I glanced at them but said nothing. I wanted to be mad that they waited too late to show, except I couldn’t summon the emotion.

I was numb.

Mom was gone. My purpose these last six months was done.

What the hell was I supposed to do now?

I’d worked so hard to save her, to make her life better. I was a complete failure.

Jesus, I was going to miss her.

How could my mother be gone? Forever?

After the ceremony, Alice invited the other four to my place. “We need to go through Mom’s things and get all her affairs in order, then decide what we’re going to do with everything.”

The others nodded. I shook my head. “Do we have to do that today?”

“When else will we be together?” Justin asked, sounding way too logical, way too unaffected. I kind of wanted to smash my fist into his jaw. “It’s a good idea to get it over with now.”

“Does she still have anything left from the bakery?” Victoria asked. “I’ve been thinking about opening my own shop.”

I glared, transferring my anger from my older brother to her. “Are you fucking kidding me? You’re opening a new shop with the money you stole from Mom?”

Blinking in surprise, she reared back as if I might throttle her, which I actually considered, even though I would never physically touch her. I’d just dream about it.

“You’re the reason she went out of business in the first place and had to sell her house and move in with me, where she ended up falling down the stairs and dying.”

“Hey, hey!” Bryce and Justin grabbed me and pulled me back, away from Victoria. “Calm your shit down, little brother.”

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