AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Josiah slowly takes a few steps toward me. He pulls a chair closer to my bed.
“Hey, sis.” His voice sounds all wrong, like he’s struggling to breathe. His elbows rest on the side of the bed and he rubs his eyes with the palms of his hands.
“What’s wrong, Josiah?” My voice sounds calm, but there’s a storm brewing inside of me.
“Where’s Mom, Josiah?” He lowers his head to his chest.
“Josiah.” My voice comes out louder and full of panic, and he flinches. I reach for his nearest arm and give it a squeeze. “Talk to me.Please,” I plead. “You’re scaring me.”
He slowly raises his head and tears begin to fall, cascading down his cheeks.
My God.
What happened?
“Sade,” he cries. “Mom’s… Mom’s…she’s gone. D-dad killed her.” His shoulders shake as he sobs, and he rests his head on the bed.
What did he say?
I look around at the faces of the people I love most in the world. All eyes in the room are red and full of tears.
No. No, no, no.
My heart beats faster inside my chest. A sting of melancholy and confusion hits me when I see the haunted look in Donnie’s eyes.
“No. No. Mom is fine. She was fine.” My voice comes out torn; I refuse to believe Mom is dead.
“Sade…” My brother’s voice cracks when he reaches for my hand.
Josiah never lies. When he lifts his eyes to me, the devastating look on his face breaks me.
“NO! I shake my head from side to side, tears flooding down my face.
She can’t be gone. No, she can’t be.
Things were starting to get better between us.
“Tia. He’s lying, right? Tell me he’s lying!” I scream through my sobs. Tia places her head in her hands, unable to answer me.
With his back to me, Ash rests his forearms on the wall, fisting his hair with his head down. Seb stands frozen in the same spot, but I see the glassy look in his eyes. Seb is not one to show his emotions, but when it comes to me, he isn’t afraid to break those walls down.
Tuning out the voices around me, a sob tears from my throat.
My chest hurts in the post that was once occupied by my heart.
I can’t breathe. It feels like I’m drowning trying to reach the surface to come up for air.
My head is spinning like a merry-go-round, holding on to dear life so I won’t fall off the damn horse.
But it’s too late.
My grip loosens around the horse’s neck, and I tumble to the ground falling over the edge.
“Baby, listen to me,” Donnie pleads.
He gently removes my hands from my ears I didn’t even realize I was covering them.
“It’s ok.”
