Chapter 8Willow,“MAMA…….MAMA.”I heard a little voice shout frantically, and I opened my eyes slowly, then shut them again. This little action made my head throb, and I frowned slowly, trying to remember what happened to cause this.Yesterday I kept tossing and turning from the pain, so I just left the bed and thought about making a sandwich. Maybe eating will take my mind off of this nasty pain.But then I found Elijah bent over the fridge searching for something to eat and his stomach was rumbling like an angry sky.A small smile stretched on my face when I remembered how startled he was to see me standing behind him, grumpy and ready to snap his neck.I haven’t slept for days, and it was getting into my head. I can tolerate pain, hunger, thirst, anything really but not sleep and lack of caffeine in my system. God, I felt miserable.But then I winced silently when I remembered what had happened soon after. Me on the damn floor holding my middle and hissing in pain.But honestly, y
Chapter 9Elijah,I kept clicking my fingers on my knee as I listened to the chitchat between Angela and Willow. These two looked like good buddies at the moment. If I were someone else, I would have thought that they knew each other long ago. Even a daughter mother relationship binds them too.It was eerie and made me mildly uncomfortable because, at moments like this, I always dreaded what would happen next.I know that my daughter will lose her shit and she will be worse than before, but what can I do? It felt like choosing between drowning or dying from the lack of oxygen. Different, but still the same.Robb, Alan, and even the always silent Henry talked about it, and I knew. God, I really knew that they were right, but I couldn’t bring myself to shatter this fake world Angela created.She was so young when it happened and she saw it all. She saw the pain and anguish on her mother’s face when she took her last breath.She saw the light fading away from her eyes and her shivering,
Chapter 10Willow,“Mama, mama wake up.”Angel said and suddenly the entire bed began to shake and I groaned turning around, covering my face and my ears, trying to block all the noise.But then she giggled, and I felt a weight drop above me and I omphed, then groaned loudly because that freaking hurt.I used the billow covering my face to hit her softly, making her giggles rise in volume, and the girl finally dropped from above me.“Just give me a couple more minutes, and I promise I will be all yours and we will do whatever you want today.”I said hoarsely and all the noise and movement seized and I sighed softly, smiling as I felt myself drift back to sleep.“NO. I want you to wake up right now. It is morning and we have the entire house for us. We can do whatever we want, mama. The big, strong dragon isn’t guarding the castle today.”She said excitedly and even though I was still groggy from sleep, I giggled, joining her, and pulled her to my arms, hugging her, making her scream h
Chapter 11Elijah,My phone kept vibrating while I was listening to something my peer said and I frowned and then flipped it over trying to focus on what the man was saying.This was a very important meeting and I need to close this deal. This will help me expand the company and make me spread worldwide.My company wasn’t small, but it wasn’t international yet and even though I work in international trade, my company didn’t reach that far.I have worked with companies in the Middle East and North America and now I want to have a foot in Asia and China is the perfect place to lay out the foundation for such a step.The man stopped, and he gave me a nod and I nodded back because this was going great. I opened my mouth to comment on what he just said, but then my phone buzzed again. Robb held my phone and checked it while I answered some of the questions that were addressed to me and asked about my company policy.But then Robb showed me the phone, and I saw Angela’s name on the caller
Chapter 12Willow,I tucked Angela in and watched her sleep soundly.She had been clinging to me for almost a week now, and it was becoming tiring. I know that she was still shocked by what had happened in Walmart, but still, it was too much.God, now I pity all the mammies I saw look tired and just gave up on life. I have one girl and I can’t handle her. She is too much.I thought, smiling, then I shook my head because look at me, should I go to a park now and sit with all the mammies and complain like them?I laughed softly again as I got out of the room and went downstairs to the kitchen to find something to eat. All of those meds make me hungry.And yeah, I have put on a couple of pounds and I wasn’t mad about it. They always told me that I needed to eat more and now I’m doing it.But I stopped in my tracks when I found Elijah there staring at an empty glass in hand, lost in thought that he didn’t even notice me.Since I woke up and found him sleeping on a couch in the hospital an
Chapter 13Elijah,I watched the sunrise from where I was standing on my balcony and shivered from how cold it was right now.I watched the sun grow and the colors change and after a moment I closed my eyes and pulled my mask down to feel the cold breeze and the warmth tickle my face.It has been a while since I came outside here and did this. It had been our thing before, and after Diana left us, I stopped watching the start of the day and felt the light chase away the darkness.It always brought peace to my mind and soul, but after the accident, it reminded me of my loss and how it happened, and who was the reason behind it.It reminded me of how shitty I was as a person and how I was a waste of air. It should have been me who died that night.My wife and daughter deserve better. Their only fault was accepting me into their life and letting me taint it with my darkness.I opened my eyes when it became warmer and I gripped the balcony railing tightly that my knuckles turned white.Th
Chapter 14Willow,I got out of the shower feeling refreshed and happy.It had been two weeks and my body was getting stronger. This time was better. I guess I was getting used to all the pain and discomfort.I thought, chuckling as I walked back to the room and leaned down to kiss Angela’s forehead, then tucked her in before standing in front of the mirror and trying to dry my hair.I want to use the hair dryer but it will be so loud and I might wake up the sleeping girl so I just used a towel and when it felt like taking forever, I just put it up in a messy bun and called it a night.I slept beside Angela making her stir a little, but then my stomach protested, so I just went downstairs to make me one of those delicious late peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.Honestly, I wasn’t that hungry, but when I thought about going to the kitchen; I thought about Elijah and remembered what happened the last time we bumped into each other there.Each time I saw him, I was reminded of his words
Chapter 15Elijah,My eyes opened, and I became alert the moment my bedroom door burst open and I heard the sniffles of my daughter as she rushed toward me. I became tense as I tried to search for my mask or open the lamp beside me, and panic was creeping into my chest when the footsteps grew closer.“It is ok. You don’t need to light the room. We can see clearly from the faint light from the opened door, but we can’t see your face.”Willow said quietly, and even though I was ashamed of myself, I sighed in relief because I didn’t want either of them to see my face.“Papa.”Angela cried softly as she climbed on top of the bed, then crawled to where I was as she felt her way in the dark.I pulled her to my chest and her crying rose in volume the moment my arms wrapped around her small, shaky body.“What happened Angel? Why aren’t you asleep?”I asked her as I began to stroke her back soothingly and she buried her face in my chest and I felt her drenched cheeks soak me.“I saw a nightma