“Youareokay, right?” she asks Jericho. “Grant made it sound like you’re going to be okay?”
Jericho nods. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
I grind my teeth together. He needs to stop saying that.
Mom shifts from foot to foot, then stifles a yawn. Knowing her, she stayed awake the entire drive from Spokane, and then she stayed by my side during all the chaos of the vampires showing up. She needs sleep.
I squeeze Jericho’s hand. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
He nods, giving me a private smile. “Take your time.”
I go to Mom, wrapping one arm around her shoulders as I guide her to the door. “Can I walk you upstairs? You look like you need some sleep.”
She makes a face. “I think we all do. What a rush.”
Mom is quiet as we make our way upstairs, and we both pause at her door when Jasmine exits the room, tying her hair back in a ponytail.
“Oh, Evelyn! I just put some more tea on your nightstand. It should help you sleep.”
Mom smiles at her. “Thank you.”
“It’sreallygood stuff,” I say. There is no way I would have slept last night without it.
Jasmine touches her arm. “I’m so sorry about all this.”
Mom doesn’t miss a beat. “Oh, it’s okay. I’m just trying not to be in the way.”
“I meant about you. You’ve been through so much in such a short time. I wouldn’t be surprised if you slept two days straight.” She gives me a knowing smirk. “But anyway, if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Where’s William?” I ask, suddenly remembering the shifter that drove Mom here. I haven’t seen him since just before the vampires showed up.
“I think he’s downstairs talking to Forest. He’s going to stay a couple of days to help out.”
Good. That’ll give me time to thank him for protecting my mom.
We enter the room and Mom gasps as she turns on the lights. “Oh, wow.”
“That’s what I said,” I tease. “This place is beautiful, isn’t it?”
Her room is similar to ours, only set up in the opposite direction and lighter tones. Her bed has a beige duvet with red accents to matchthe luxurious drapes. The high ceiling and large paintings make the room seem even bigger, and the ceramic vases with silk plants add an elegant touch to the ivory dressers. Everything about the room should make Mom feel right at home. She loves this sort of shit.
Mom kicks off her shoes then sits on her bed, thumbing through the stack of clothes Jasmine left for her. I chew my lip before taking a seat next to her. I have no idea what I’m going to say, but I need to try.
“You okay?” I ask.
“I should be asking you that. I’m your mother.”
I reach for her hand. “You’ve been through a lot.”
“So have you,” she replies, bumping my shoulder. “Must have been hard, seeing Jericho like that.”
I look away, afraid she’ll see too much, but the emotion comes anyway. “Yeah. It was. God, I… it fucking hurt, Mom. I kind of lost it for a minute.”
She scoots closer.
“It’s just, things are so fucked up now, but at the same time… they’re also starting to make sense. Like, really make sense. I see things now that I didn’t before.”
She doesn’t say anything, but her expression is soft. Inviting. Like she’s waiting for me to say it.
