"No, Mom. I wanted to so please don't argue."
She wrapped him up in a hug before her eyes flicked to Dante and finally landed on me. Mom patted the space on the bed beside her.
"I want to hear all about this wedding," she said.
I hesitantly walked over to her and took a seat before I took her hand in mine.
As the night wore on, Mom kept us occupied with chat and even placed Dante on the spot when she asked when she would be getting an invite to his wedding. Dante looked panicked at the thought. Hell was more likely to freeze over than Dante locking someone down.
"At least I know I'll see one of my boys walk up the aisle," Mom said. Her hand cupped Stefan's face and I felt a twinge in my chest. Stef would always be the one to give her everything I couldn't. The career, the daughter in law and the family. Golden boy could do no wrong in anyone’s eyes.
I got off the bed, needing a breather from the affection. "I'm going to speak to the nurse."
Walking out of the room and towards the nurse's station, I quietly greeted, "Hi, I was wondering if I could have a chat about Maria Foster... Evans," I corrected myself. "I mean Maria Evans."
"Hey, sugar," a familiar, matronly nurse greeted me. "What are you after?"
"Just wanted to know how she's doing, Kel."
Kelly took me through to the day room and sat me down. I always felt uncomfortable in the hospital with its antiseptic smell and white walls. Too sterile and ordered, even for me.
"You know it's progressive, Luc," Kelly told me gently.
I nodded. We’d had this conversation plenty of times and I always buried my head in the sand, but there was no avoiding it.
"She's knocking up a few more bad days than good at this point. The fall isn’t great but thankfully nothing broken. We're keeping a close eye on her and you know that we'll be in touch with you if there's anything you need to know," Kelly said.
"Thanks, Kelly."
"The doctor is due to see her tomorrow and hopefully we'll know a little more then."
"Call me as soon as he's in," I told her. I may not have had the same relationship with Mom that Stefan did, but that didn’t mean I turned my back on her.
"Of course," Kelly assured me. "I see Stef's back in town."
"For good," I confirmed. "He's worried about Mom."
"That boy's going to make a fine doctor one day," Kelly said with a smile. I returned it before I got up. "Sugar," Kelly called as I walked towards the door.
"Yeah?"
"Tell that fine hunk of a man that he still owes me dinner."
I laughed since the first time we had landed home. I had told Dante a million times to stop flirting with the nurses, but he never listened.
By the time the three of us left the hospital, it was the early hours of the morning and everything started to hit me. No amount of money would help Mom regain her health. Life would ebb away from her sooner than I would like, and I would be left without parents. With those thoughts in mind, I crawled into bed without a word and allowed an uneasy sleep to take over.
Chapter Twenty Six
Mia
Padding down the stairs the next morning, I wasn’t sure if I would be the only one awake. I hadn't seen anyone last night and eventually turned in but now, in the kitchen, Lydia talked to the boys. My definition of boys usually encompassed Dante and Luc but today it also included Stefan.
"Morning, everyone," I greeted brightly.
I was met by a chorus of mornings and couldn't help but notice that Luc looked as if he hadn’t slept well. The last time he’d returned home late, he was covered in his work. I hoped last night had not been a repeat of that.
"Mia," Luc said, catching my attention. "Just so you know, Stefan will be staying with us now. My baby brother." But the last sentence had not held affection in the way that it should have.
