Back to my family, who needs me.
What the hell happened?
Is Mom okay?
Did she get hurt? Or maybe she hurt somebody else.
I should have probably called, but I didn’t want to waste any precious seconds on talking when I could be driving instead.
My fingers wrap around the handles, the bike speeding up a notch.
Rationally, I know I shouldn’t do it. I can’t risk getting into any more trouble than I’m already in, but I can’t help it.
The bite of the wind is cutting into my body, but it only makes me crave to push harder. Faster.
The drive to the care facility is a blur. I jump off the bike, my legs feeling heavy, but I push myself forward. Enter the building. Go to the nurses. Their faces turn solemn the moment they spot me, and I can feel my stomach churn. One of them leads me to the back and down the hallway to my mother’s room.
My breathing is ragged by the time I come to a stop in the doorway to find the room full. The air is stiff and filled with tension that can be cut with a knife, making the hair on the back of my neck rise.
Miguel’s arms are wrapped around Becky, her head burrowed into his chest as he glides his hand up and down her back. Chase and Rose are standing on the other side of the bed,her hand in his, fingers intertwined. Chase’s hand is on Kyle’s shoulder, the boy’s arms wrapped around my brother’s middle. Mrs. Fernandez is there, holding baby Jackson, tears streaming down her face.
What the hell?
Then I hear it.
The loudbeeeppierces through the echo of my wild heartbeat inside my eardrums, and I can feel my stomach sink.
No.
My heart lurches as my gaze darts to the bed, and that’s when I see her.
“Mom?”
She seems so small lying under the blankets. Her face is pale, eyes closed.
Asleep.
That’s it, right?
She’s just asleep.
Just taking a little nap as she always does, tired after a visit.
But even as the thought crosses my mind, I know it’s not true.
My siblings spot me. Becky’s tear-stained eyes meet mine, while Chase’s jaw is set in a tight line.
“M-Matthew…” Becky shakes her head, whimpering.
She’s not asleep.
She’s dead.
Gone.
Forever.
My knees buckle underneath me as I sink to the floor, that familiar guilt slamming into me in full force.
