After a car accident leaves Riley Perez in a coma, she wakes up in the hospital a year later. With the absence of the memories of her loved ones, she continues to live her life, but nothing is ever the same again, especially with a gaping void in he...
"Nah ah!" She raises a hand to stop me. "Don't start pitying me, babe. I'm good. And I'm definitely rooting for you! Even if Kyle and I aren't close, I know for a fact that he's not a bad person. When he found out that Ian and I were dating, he never once ran his mouth off about us to others."
As I mull over her words, she winks at me. "Instead of wasting time wondering if you guys will ever work out, why don't you find it out for yourself, Riley? If you stop yourself from doing something that you want, you would only end up regretting it in the future."
I'm stunned, realizing that her advice is something that I truly need. Before she sees it coming, I'm already hugging her out of gratitude.
"Thank you, Blaire."
***
In the late evening sky, the sun dips low in the horizon as the stars appear. The wind grows chilly and tosses my hair carelessly, whipping my face, but it doesn't bother me. In fact, all I see is the bunch of white roses resting on the cold tombstone. Ever so slowly, my eyes run across the words engraved on the stone, reading them with utmost care.
Ava Perez.
Beloved by family, cherished by friends.
Our shining star forever in our hearts.
I stare down at the white lilacs that I'm holding in my hands. Flowers for the dead.
I should cry, but I don't feel the tears coming. I'm strangely calm, unnerved by the sight of my mother's grave. A woman whose face I've clearly forgotten. My aunt tells me that while I was asleep, they did all they could to send her off safely. They held a private funeral, mainly because they didn't want our accident to make it to the top of the headline news and become the talk of the town.
And I appreciate that.
"Someone came before us," I hear Aunt Abbie mumble beside me. "Must be the old neighbors or her ex-colleagues."
She takes me by the arm and pulls us closer. She kneels and sweeps the dead leaves off the tombstone with her hands. "Hey, Ava." She greets my mother with a wistful smile. "I hope you've been doing well. And guess what? I brought your baby here today."
I was calm before, but that last line seems to stir something inside of me and overwhelm me with emotions. Swallowing hard, I kneel beside Aunt Abbie and place the flowers on top of the grave.
"Hey, Mom. It's me," I tell her quietly. "I'm finally here."
My words, or my presence at Mom's resting place, seem to trigger my aunt — a reminder of what we've lost. The next thing I know, she breaks into tears, saying how much she misses her older sister. I stay completely still, staring intently at the tombstone as if I'm in a trance.
In my mind, I recite Mom's name repeatedly, feeling as if I'm clawing through the thick fog in my head just to get to her.
Ava Perez is Mom.
Mom is Ava Perez.
There's a saying that goes like this; when we die, we're reborn as a star in the sky. I would like to think that she's still out there somewhere and watching over me. Over us. If she's looking at us now and can hear us, I wish to tell her this.
"I'm sorry," I whisper.
An unfilial daughter is what I am. I'm sorry for being the only survivor, for not being there for her when she laid to rest. I'm sorry for forgetting her.
But someday, I hope I'll remember her so that I can tell her I love her.
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A/N: I know that I haven't posted any updates for over a month but I'm slowly getting back to it now since this is the only book that I'm focusing on. Thank you so much for waiting & I hope you guys have been doing well! ❤️
