Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 102929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
I let her words etch into my skin, making their way into my heart. It was the first time anyone ever told me they loved me.
In the blink of an eye, she was gone.
I bawled for the boys once again, losing their mother.
* * *
But I especially cried for the little girl inside me who thought she had found one.
Chapter
Forty-Four
Kraven
Isla found us at the diner an hour later. It was one of our favorite spots to eat. She texted Julius, and he told her where we were. We ate our lunch in silence.
Where do we go from here?
Julius’s stare connected with mine, nodding toward the attendant. I was closer to her than he was, and I knew what he wanted me to do. I was thinking the same thing.
A few minutes later, the restaurant erupted with, “Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Isla! Happy birthday to you!”
Suddenly, Isla beamed, glowing so bright it was nearly blinding. Her smile illuminated the entire room. Her happiness was contagious. It was far too easy to make her content. She needed so little. It made me appreciate the small things more. Something as simple as a happy birthday song.
Julius smiled at her. “Make a wish.”
Isla tightly shut her eyes, concentrating on her wish, and I never wanted to know what she was thinking more than I did at that moment.
What did she wish for?
I just hoped it had nothing to do with Melody.
“Thank you, guys,” she declared. “That was my first happy birthday song ever.”
I think this was the first time she shared something like that with us at the same time.
“Well,” I simply stated, “the first of many.”
The rest of the day, I guess you could say we did a do-over. Isla chose everything we did, and we ended up at Central Park, trying to make up for yesterday.
For most of the time, she was funny.
Grateful.
Surviving the aftermath that was Melody Knightly.
On the train ride back to the house, she sat between us and grabbed our hands. Placing them in her lap. We rode like that for the entire ride. When it was time to get off, she stood first and thanked us again for the day. Julius kissed her neck, pulling her close to his side.
It was dark out by the time we walked inside the house.
Isla walked into the kitchen, asking, “You guys hungry? I could throw some chicken on the grill.”
“Sure,” I replied. “I’ll go turn it on for you.”
“Thanks.”
“You can open our gifts after I get it going.”
“Sounds good.”
I caressed the side of her face for a second. It was the first time I’d touched her in what felt like forever.
She was soft.
Warm.
Comforting.
My gaze connected with my brothers, who were watching us from the couch with an expression I couldn’t place. I removed my hand, smiling at her as her eyes found Julius’s as well. It didn’t take long for us to be back in this crossfire.
Turning away, I opened the backyard door and turned on the light before stepping out onto the wooden porch. A cold breeze blew through, making me shudder. Or maybe, just maybe, it was a warning of what was still to come.
I looked over, shouting, “Fuck!” Not believing my eyes. “Julius!”
I couldn’t move.
My feet stuck to the floor beneath me.
Julius hurried to my side with Isla not far behind him.
“What’s wrong—” He stopped dead in his tracks, coming face-to-face with the reality that was our life.
There was Melody.
Our mother.
The woman who abandoned us.
With a fucking needle in her arm.
Isla gasped, and her hands flew to her mouth.
“Melody!” Julius sprang into action, falling to his knees at her side. He shook her, desperately trying to wake her. “Don’t do this! Don’t you fucking do this to us! Wake up!”
Nothing.
“Julius…” I rasped, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders.
“Kraven, call 911 now!”
My head fervently shook back and forth. “Julius…”
“Kraven, now!”
“Julius, please…” I begged, silently praying he knew what I needed.
That I wouldn’t have to say it.
“Kraven—”
“Just take the fucking needle out of her arm!”
When he didn’t do it fast enough, Isla did it for him, as if she were focusing on the same thing, needing it as badly as I did. She chucked it across the yard.
Reaching for my cell phone in my pocket, I frantically pulled it out, my hands shaking. I was on the verge of losing my shit, not knowing what the fuck I should do.
Feel.
My vision began tunneling.
The sounds around me echoed in the distance.
My hands started to sweat.
My mind swirled back to the last time we found her like this. I was eight, and the ambulance had to give her Narcan. I thought we lost her then, but this was much worse because her lifeless eyes were staring right at me.
Anxiously shaking away the images, I called, hitting the speaker.