Page 7 of Protecting Gina

He glanced at their mother, thinking she would be okay. Cassandra said goodbye, promising to be back in the morning. His mother gave no reaction that she heard her. Maybe sitting beside the bed was useless, but if it helped Cassandra, he would do whatever he needed to do.

They left the room, walking in silence to the elevator. They were past all the other rooms, closer to the elevator lobby, when Cassandra spoke.

“Do you remember what I called elevators when we were younger?”

He thought for a few seconds, then it came to him. “People eaters.”

“Yeah. People eaters.”

They both laughed at the shared memory. He stopped walking, and she stopped, too. The Navy had taught him a lot. He’d been through hell, but also, in a way, he’d been to heaven, too. It didn’t change the fact that he’d only seen Cassandra a few times in the years he’d been gone.

“There are times I wish I had stayed here and helped out more.”

Cassandra shook her head, then put her hand on his arm. “No, you did the right thing. Mom was different with you.” She smiled and shook her head. “I know it’s difficult for you to come back. But thank you for being there for me. I’ve never really said much about it, but the extra money you sent saved me. I learned how to cook, and I was able to buy clothes when I went up in size. I hid the account from Mom. I explained the new clothes by telling her I had a job. Really, I was in the city library studying most nights. I’m only doing so well in school because of you.”

He pulled her into a hug. “I’m glad I could help. And I’m glad you’re coming to California to live with me.”

She laughed and stepped back. “You may not be so happy about that when I’m there all the time.”

“It will be good having you around.”

He heard beeping, and his smile fell as he watched nurses rush down the hall, followed by doctors. Cassandra followed his gaze and took a step in the direction of their mother’s room.

“Wait.”

She shook her head. “Why? What if⁠—”

“If it’s Mom, the doctors are in there doing what they can. We won’t be able to go in.”

“Let’s at least get closer.”

He could see that Cassandra wasn’t going to back down, so he relented. “Sure.”

Wave slowed his pace, not wanting to get too close to where the doctors were working. He knew all too well that watching doctors do their job could be traumatic.

Cassandra grabbed his hand and sped up. “Come on.”

“Slow down.”

She glanced over her shoulder, worry filling her gaze. “But she’s dying.”

She knew this was the end. Cassandra wasn’t a child he had to protect. She had a good head on her shoulders. She was smart and would make it through the storm caused by their mother’s death.

He put his arm around her and walked with her toward their mother’s hospital room. “Cassandra, are you sure you want to see this?”

She nodded, so he kept moving toward their mother’s room. He’d seen death many times. A few of those times, it had been his friends. He was sure Cassandra had never seen anyone die.

When they stepped into the room, he hugged her closer. Their mother had an order on file directing the doctors not to resuscitate her. This was it. The end for their mother.

Wave was sad, but the sadness wasn’t only that she would be gone, but that they’d never been able to resolve their issues. His mother never acknowledged that she’d done anything wrong. He wished they could have actually talked about the problems she’d had with him, but she never wanted to speak about it. Now that option had been taken from his hands.

Cassandra moved to the bed, tears streaming down her face. She kissed their mother’s cheeks then stepped back. The doctor called the time of death.

Wave blew out a breath. It was over. Now he just had to figure out how to take care of Cassandra and work as a SEAL. Moving Cassandra to California would bring challenges, but he was up for it.

CHAPTER FIVE

By the time Wave woke, the sun sat high in the sky. After their mother passed, it had taken more than an hour to leave the hospital. No restaurants were open, and he wasn’t going to let his sister go to bed hungry. He’d made her a peanut butter sandwich, which she consumed half of, saying she was too sad to eat more.