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Kyler loped out of the house while we were loading the paintings into the trunk, looking annoyingly chipper as ever. I’d gotten the impression he was spending more nights at the manor than in his apartment in town, what with all the digging he was doing through the Frankfords’ files. From what he’d said, he was worried that if he brought any device with the files away from the property, the Frankfords’ might figure out we’d copied them and come after us even harder. I figured he didn’t mind the excuse to keep Rose company at night.
I guessed I couldn’t really fault him for that. The brainiac did have some catching up to do when it came to that kind of experience.
“Hey,” he said. “Hope you don’t mind me tagging along. We did my parents’ house this morning. I’d like to look around and see if I notice any common patterns that might tell us how the spell was set down or working or whatever.”
“You never know how to turn off research mode, do you?” I said.
He grinned. “It’s worked out well for us so far.”
I couldn’t deny that. “Sure,” I said, even though I could already picture the faces the two of them were going to make when they saw Mom’s shabby place. She wasn’t going to be picky about the art. She’d be thrilled to have anything decent up at all. The best she had right now was a couple of faded poster prints tacked to the living room wall.
Well, let them see how people who’d been a little less fortunate lived. I didn’t need to be embarrassed about that. If they wanted to look down their noses at my family like most people in town did, then let them.
“How was your mother the last time you saw her?” Ky asked as we got in the car, already diving into the information-gathering part of the trip apparently.
“I haven’t stopped by since she freaked out about me seeing Rose,” I said. “I figured she needed some cooling off time.” And I hadn’t wanted to risk hearing another rant like that one. I wanted to stilllikemy mother when all this was over. “She’s been fine when I’ve checked in by text, but it’s pretty normal for us not to talk much except when I go see her. She’s busy with work.”
“She’s cleaning for what’s-his-name, the guy who bought up all those properties on the south side, right?” Jin said.
“Yeah. He expects long hours.” And he expected his employees to put up with a whole heap of nasty comments. I’d overheard him verbally leering at my mother once and the only reason the guy still had his dick attached was because she’d pleaded with me not to go off on him. She needed that job, she said. I was pretty sure she could have found something better. If she’d tried some longshots, something would have panned out, but she was afraid of people scoffing at her for even trying. She found leers easier to take than sneers.
Thankfully, Jin didn’t make any comment about what other jobs Mom maybe could have gotten or what a step down it was to go from cleaning some majestic manor house to people’s apartments that weren’t really that much nicer than her own. I hit the gas and turned us toward town.
In the middle of a weekday, the streets were particularly quiet. It didn’t take long to reach the house my mom lived on the second floor of. I parked in the driveway, and we each grabbed one of the paintings to bring up. Jin had done a large one for the living room and a couple of smaller ones for wherever we could reasonably put them.
“She didn’t reply to my text saying we were coming by,” I said as we started up the rickety stairs along the side of the house. “Might have her phone turned off on the job. I’ve got a key anyway. Better that we get this stuff up as soon as possible. If she’s not here, I’ll stick around to show off her ‘present’.”
I didn’t look back at the other guys as I talked, not really wanting to see their expressions as they took in the place. They were probably already looking forward to when they could get out of here.
No one answered when I knocked on the door. I knocked again and then fished my keys out of my back pocket. The door squeaked as I opened it. A sour smell immediately filled my nose, so gross I winced.
Normally Mom kept the apartment at leastclean. What the hell was that?
“Mom?” I called, heading in and setting down the packaged painting in the short front hall. “Are you home?”
No answer, but the smell thickened. My pulse started to thump harder. I peeked into the living room and then turned to the kitchen.
A leg was protruding, sprawled, from the other side of the table. My heart just about burst out of my chest. I threw myself around the table.
Mom was slumped there on her stomach, her arms splayed, a pool of half-dried vomit on the floor near her face. Her skin was clammy when I touched her cheek. Her eyelids fluttered at the contact but stayed closed.
Fuck.Fuck. What the hell did I do now?
As panic blared through my body, Kyler dropped down next to my mom. His eyes widened, but he managed to keep his voice even. “We have to check for a pulse and make sure she’s breathing,” he said. “If she’s not, I know CPR.”
“Youknow, or you internet-know?” I couldn’t help muttering automatically.
Ky gave a choked laugh. “Internet-know, but let’s hope that’s good enough, right?”
As he pressed his fingers to the side of her neck, Jin’s voice carried from the doorway. “Yes, the second floor. She’s unconscious. I don’t know for how long, but it looks serious. Ten minutes? Okay. What should we do until then?”
He had emergency services on the line. I held my hand by my mother’s nose and felt a wisp of breath at the same moment as Ky announced, “Got a pulse! It’s pretty erratic, though.”
“They say to cover her up with a blanket or something,” Jin said. “To make sure she doesn’t go into shock.”
I leapt up and ran into her bedroom. Oh, God, she wouldn’t want me to use her usual duvet, risk getting puke on it—she’d saved up to buy that one special. I snatched a spare wool blanket out of the closet and dashed back.
Ky helped me roll Mom onto her side. Her head lolled so limply that my chest clenched like a vice. “The ambulance will be here soon?” I said to Jin, even though I’d heard what he’d said on the phone with my own ears.
