“Not…cra…zy.” Her head snapped up from my chest. If she was going for perfection, she was doing a piss-poor job of it. There was a frown burrowed so deeply into her forehead, I wanted to rub my thumb against the lines.
“You’re not.” I couldn’t help it, laying a small kiss on her forehead. “Tell me more.”
She settled back against me, watching the waves crash against the shore. “Love…wat..er…The…w…w…waves…new.”
Her speech was getting better, but there were still certain words or letters she got hung up on. Most of the time, I could understand her, but it was always a slow process. “No two waves are the same?” I guessed.
She nodded. “Loved…to sit…and watch.” She shifted closer to me. “Saved me…w…w…ith…w…water.”
I made a noise, letting her know she wasn’t alone, but I didn’t say a thing. I didn’t think she had finished speaking, and I didn’t want her to feel rushed, which would only increase the confusion, but when I looked at her, she was staring out into the void. Wherever she was, I couldn’t follow. All I did was tighten my arm around her, making sure she knew she was safe.
***
Elizabeth
I tilted my head up to the sky, but a family caught my attention. Two little girls were building a sandcastle as their mother sat in a beach chair a few feet away. A wave came rushing in, ruining the castle. One girl bent, trying to fix it, but I watched as another wave came crashing in, racing up her back.
Blackness fell over my vision.
“I know you’re trying to help, but leave me alone,” I said, rolling over in my bed, my back to my sister as she stood by my side, trying to get me up. “Please, Mads.”
“No. I refuse to watch you die in this bed.” Her shoes squeaked on the floor as she moved around the room. I closed my eyes, hoping she’d take the hint.
“What difference does it make? I’m already dead,” I mumbled.
Madalyn pushed me over, climbed into my bed and wrapped her arms around me from behind. “I know, Lizzie, but you’re stronger than I am, and if anyone can survive this, it’s you.”
I reached for her arm around me, spooning closer to her body. “I have to trust a mobster is going to do what’s best for my baby.” She tightened her arm around me, and I felt her forehead dig into the middle of my back.
“Every time you give up, he wins. When you don’t eat, he wins some more. He’s constantly smiling at his good fortune,” she sighed, brushing a few strands of hair off my neck. “I refuse to let him win again.”
I heard myself snort. “Are you going to get Gerry to talk to him?”
“No, I’m going to make sure you live. Starting today.”
Everything was bright. I squinted, trying to adjust to my surroundings. The family I’d been watching was now eating a snack. The sandcastle was long destroyed, but the rhythm of the waves soothed my soul.
I tilted my head up, and Thunder was looking down at me.
“I…never left…my bed.” I watched as the waves crashed along the shore, over and over. “Told Mads…to leave…me alone. She dumped…w…w…water on…my…head.” The tears that I’d been holding in finally fell. “Made me…get up.” I waved my arm in front of me.
“She brought you to the beach?” Thunder prompted, tightening his hold on me.
I nodded. “Plopped book…in my…lap.” Madalyn had pretended it was a normal day, feeding me snacks and drinks, while she actually read her book.
She kept coming back until one day I met her at the door, ready to go.
When Madalyn passed away, I’d made a promise to protect her children. It didn’t matter that they were adults. I wasn’t about to break my word.
Chapter 3
Not Enough Coffee For This Shit
Thunder
It was Monday, and as I walked into church, my eyes went directly to the head of the table. Sabre and Grizz were normally the first two, but their seats were empty.
“What’s going on?” I asked Slate as I took my seat. If something was going down in the clubhouse, chances were good Slate knew. He’d always been the worst gossip.
