AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Really?”
I snarled. “No, Marina. You sort of shoved us out and told us to think of you as dead. Or don’t you remember?”
“Yeah, but I don’t remember it sounding like that.”
“That’s because you conveniently forgot all the harm you did.”
She groaned. “When do you need it, Adam?”
“Tomorrow, I guess. By dusk. I can let you know.”
“Can’t wait.”
The line went dead in my ear. Dreadful feelings bubbled in my conscious mind, the waves of doubt washing over every inch of me. That was it. That was her version of help.
We might as well be doomed.
The door at the end of the hall creaked. Light spilled into the living room followed by the soft patter of footsteps. The sound paused at the edge of the couch.
Lilac waves washed over me. “Adam?”
“Yes, Lottie?”
“Are you okay?”
I huffed while leaning against my knees. “I don’t know.”
“Hey, let me help.”
“No.”
I shot up from the couch and marched into the kitchen, sweeping my fingers through my hair while searching for something to do. Coffee—that was always a good idea. My hands went through the familiar motions of preparing coffee as Charlotte entered the kitchen behind me and crossed her arms over her chest.
Seeing her do such a normal thing out of my peripheral vision haunted me. It could have been any normal Friday morning if it weren’t for the fact that my kid was slowly dying somewhere beneath the city.
I closed my eyes while resting my palms on the tile counter.I just want to wake up from this nightmare.
The scent of lilac trickled into my awareness accompanied by the sensation of spring. The same clogging humidity that might have bothered me was a welcome feeling, reminding me of dancing flowers and shimmying trees. When I turned around, Charlotte peered up at me calmly, her eyes resembling the yellow pollen that would cake to the body of my car.
She bowed her head slightly. “Is she going to help?”
“Yeah, tomorrow. Or today. Whatever.”
“That’s good, Adam.”
I shrugged. “Is she even going to show up? I don’t know why she bothered answering the phone.”
“Maybe she thought it was important.”
“Oh,thisis the important thing, huh?” I shook my head. “His whole life was spent in radio silence and she chooses now to break it on a whim? I don’t think she’s feeling charitable, Lottie. I think she wants something.”
She shrugged. “Does it matter? She’s helping. Your son will be okay.”
“Yes, it matters.”
When she extended a mug to me, I took it mechanically. I sipped the coffee. I swallowed it. I tried to let it do what it needed to do in my system.
But nothing was helping. Not even Charlotte.
