Fate's Return (Twisted Fate, Book 2)

Chapter Forty-Nine

"Look, I'm all for you seeing your mom, but to go against your dad?" She shook her head. "I love him as much as the next teddy bear, but he's scary when he's pissed. I'm not suicidal."

"Just tell me her room number."

She looked to Mike, Gabe, and Raffy for help. Why did everyone think I was strong enough to beat Darkness if they imagined me folding into a pile on the floor at seeing my mother? My patience slid down the mountain of control like an avalanche. I opened my mouth and took a step forward, prepared to find the room on my own and tell them all to lose my number.

"I'll take her," Gabe said.

Raffy snorted, slapping Gabe in the stomach. He stepped forward to block him, shaking his head. "I'll take her." He glanced between Gabe and Mike, and said, "You two need to work out your"—he looked at me and back to them— "issues before you do anything else."

"What room, Suzie?" I asked, turning my head back so I was facing her.

She sighed and looked away. "Seven fifty-two. But if your father asks, a nurse told you."

"Let's go, then." Raffy followed me out of the room, pausing at the doorway to look between Suzie, Mike, and Gabe. "You three need to talk and figure things out. We'll be back. Soon." Tapping the doorframe, he nodded, and from the corner of my eyes, I watched as he sprinted to catch up.

There was no way I was slowing down, but the change in him was enough to make me want to ask what caused it—after I saw my mom.

The easy-going guy I loved to hate and hated to like was gone. Raffy became serious and vigilant, always watching everything around us as though determining potential threats. What questions I did ask—Who are they? Why am I so special? —were met with silence. From the time we left the examination room until we reached my mother's door, he said three words, and then only when we arrived.

"Here you are."

Raffy gestured to the open door after poking his head inside and then stood against the wall just outside like a private guard, menacing with a glare and crossed arms. It allowed me privacy, at least, to help my mom and finally catch my breath since the evening began. If it wasn't for having her to focus on, I would have already given in to the spiral that my emotions had begun to spin into.

*****

My father had gone home to shower and change in preparation for the heartache morning promised, allowing me over an hour to sit with my mom. Would he notice I wasn't home? Or would he be too busy packing a bag to ship into obscurity along with my mother? If I couldn't help her, I would tell my father the truth. I was the one who should go because, without me, nothing could hurt them again. Not like they wouldn't be susceptible to wounds like other humans, but at least they would no longer be a target for Darkness as it tried to get to me.

She would be free to get well if she couldn't be used as bait.

I held her hand and thought about the memory of when the sign fell on me. Not the pain, of course, but the joy and warmth while my body healed. I also thought of the beautiful light and how it had consumed the Darkness. I mean, either she was hurt and needed healing, or the Darkness blocked her from herself and she needed to be cleansed of its control. So, I did my best to address both, closing my eyes as I blocked everything but the thoughts I wanted to have.

As the overwhelming warmth filled me, I squeezed her hand as though it would help transfer whatever I had to her more easily. When I thought I could take it no more, I opened my eyes and looked at my mom in time to see a black wisp rise from her body and disintegrate into the air as dust.

I let out a single breath, not realizing that I'd been holding it, and let go of her hand. The last of Brenan is gone. My mother would be fine and hopefully, she would not remember any of what she'd been through. I wished I could forget.

I kissed her cheek before I left, managing to reach home before running into my dad. Without his car in the driveway, the house felt empty. But Suzie, Mike and Gabe were waiting at the kitchen table for me and Raffy in silence, filled with concern. Pausing in the doorway, I caught and held each of their gazes.

What did they know?

Suzie put her hands on the kitchen table and started to stand. "Aly—"

"No." I shook my head and raised my hand, and then walked over to the fridge to open a fresh bottle of water. Setting it on the counter, I bent down and rooted through the cabinets until I found medication for my headache. I could hardly keep my eyes open to read the inscription. I so tired all I cared about were two words: Extra Strength. I took two.

"Well then," I said, swallowing the pills, and leaned against the counter as I screwed the lid of my water closed. "You people owe me one helluva explanation. But, if I want any chance at understanding the BS, I need sleep. For like, a week. So..." I pushed off the counter, still clutching the water, and started to the kitchen door. "I'm going to bed and you all will be here first thing to answer my questions."

"We should talk—" Mike stood.

"In the morning," I repeated and walked away with a wave over my shoulder. "Good night."

In truth, I needed a good cry and didn't want any witnesses. Pathetic. What kind of fighter wins and then falls apart? I should build on the momentum that had already begun and demand answers instead of giving them the time to find excuses. Because somehow by leaving, I was allowing an impossible situation to remain unexplained.

Tomorrow wouldn't garner answers.

This wasn't the last of Darkness.

But Mike, Gabe, and Raffy weren't the only ones I had to turn to. Suzie was here, but she wouldn't be any help. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and got picked up somewhere along the ride. So even if I stayed in the kitchen, how much would I have learned? If they were willing to talk about it in front of Suzie, I wouldn't listen. Losing her as a friend once was enough, and she already thought I was crazy.

I opened my bedroom door and fell face-down on my bed, feeling a hard object dig into my stomach. Lifting myself up, I pulled it away and scoffed. My journal. I'd thrown it there when I planned to leave. Now, I wish I had seized the moment and left instead of going to the party, changing my mind about leaving town along the way.

"What a joke," I said, and pulled myself all the way up to my knees so I could reach over and throw the book in the garbage under my desk. Flopping back down, I rolled to my back, draping my arm over my eyes to block the sun.

The bottle of water fell to the floor.

Scruffy used the stairs to climb up and snuggle in against my legs.

Reality drifted away.