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Leaving my mum’s room for the very last time was so much harder than I’d ever imagined. Chloe and Hope were still quietly sobbing, while Ryan kept a comforting arm around each of them. His face, I noted, was almost as white as mine. When Dad asked if we’d mind stepping outside so he could say his final goodbyes in private, we nodded dumbly, stumbling from the room in a daze of grief.
Ryan, Chloe, and Hope walked down the corridor three abreast, while I hung back a little behind them, feeling more alone than ever. I walked with eyes downcast, yet seeing with a clarity that shocked me. There was only one person I wanted to turn to when my heart was breaking into a thousand pieces, or when it was overflowing with joy. And I had ruined everything with him. How could I have been so stupid to have let something that rare slip through my fingers?
My view of the foyer was largely blocked by the three members of the Turner family. But beyond them I could see the glimmering rays of the setting sun shafting through the home’s plate glass doors. I blinked in the light as I stepped out from the dim corridor, and as my eyes re-adjusted, I saw a figure that shimmered like the mirage it had to be. Only now the mirage was pushing away from the wall he had been leaning against and walking towards me.
Mitch’s arms were open wide, ready to catch me, and I ran into them. Here was the comfort I needed. His arms held me against him as my tears saturated his shirt.
‘Why are you here?’ I asked, when speech was finally possible. ‘How did you evenknow?’
‘Sam told me what was happening, and I just got straight into the car and started driving to be with you. It was only when I got closer that I realised you might not want me here.’
Everything was starting to make sense. ‘So… you checked with Chloe?’
He nodded. ‘I’m so sorry about your mum, Maddie. I thought you might need a friend with you tonight.’
I glanced over at the three members of the Turner family and caught Chloe’s eye. ‘I’m lucky. I have friends, really good ones.’ A look of uncertainty crossed Mitch’s face and I hated that I was the one who had put it there. ‘What I want, what I need goes beyond friendship. What I need… is you.’
A light came on in his eyes and I vowed to never extinguish it again. His hands were gentle as they cupped my face. ‘You already have that. You have done for a very long time.’
‘But what if it all happens again? What if I slip away once more?’
Mitch’s hands fell from my face and captured both of mine. With our fingers interlocked he brought them to his lips and gently kissed them. ‘Then I’ll be beside your bed, holding your hand just like this, until you wake up.’
His head slowly lowered and this time it was my lips he kissed. ‘Because you made me believe in miracles.’
‘Me too,’ I whispered.
And for the first time in seventeen years I felt that I was truly home.
I was finally awake.
