Tangled

192

192

192 Ava: Mom's Legacy (V)

The hospital is eerily quiet, our steps echoing through the halls. Visiting hours are long over, and night shift reigns.

Vanessa is unfazed by the creepy quality of the place at a late hour, but I jump when the elevator dings, signalling its arrival in front of

1. us.

"You okay?" she asks, concern knitting her brows.

Selene-who's finally out from beneath my bed, though she refuses to talk about why she avoided me for the rest of the day- leans against my leg in silent comfort. "It's just so quiet. I'm not used to hospitals without people bustling around."

There's a giant machine coming down the hall in our direction, cleaning the floor with whatever algorithm powers its movement.

I always wondered how hospitals kept their floors so clean. I guess everything's automated these days.

Vanessa nudges me onto the elevator, pressing the button for my mom's floor before we've all even made it in.

Four bodyguards flank us. Massive overkill, considering that there isn't much we're expecting to happen on this visit.

Still, Lucas-and Jericho-are taking no chances on my safety.

Marcus, at least, is getting a break, and a new guy seems to be the one to shadow me for the night. He's a little short, but his eyes are black and intense, and I wouldn't want to be found in an alley with him in the dark.

•

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log Ave Mom's Legacy (V)

He smells like death, Selene says. To me, such words are atrocious, like I should avoid the person. To her? She speaks as though she

admires him.

And that's a good thing?

Selene's ears flick toward me, and I can feel her side-eye even without her eyes moving. He is a capable guard. This is a good thing. Right. I guess that's true.

edge," Vanessa murmurs, looking straight forward as the elevator numbers

my mom, or her wolf. Avoidance has always been my

No. But habits are really,

than it should, each step heavy with dread. Selene presses close to my side, her warmth a small comfort in the sterile

corridor is the same as the last, and yet it feels as though we're going in

did they move her?" I ask,

me, a strange smile playing on her lips. "They had to make

we enter the room. Two of our guards take up positions outside, whil the

suffocating.

steady beep of machines filling the silence. Vanessa

the IV bags hanging beside the bed, her movements

hover near the foot of the bed, my eyes drawn to the frail figure

and yet she looks so much smaller, her cheeks hollow

long for this

its toll," Vanessa murmurs, her voice tinged with something I can't

resignation.

open. They're dull, lacking the fire I've always associated with her. But when they land on me, they sharpen, a glare that pins me in place. "You must have come to curse me

voice thin and brittle.

accusation hits me like a physical blow, but

nothing.

you be here?" She struggles to sit up, her arms trembling with the effort, before finally giving up. The vitriol in her eyes never fades, though. "To gloat? To see me wither away?" "I'm not

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Mom's Legacy

sound is vile, coming

that even the sound of her cough is filled with

you're here, aren't

filled with clear liquid. "We're about to give you something

I'm trying not to flinch at the words she

nudge against my hand keeps me grounded. Don't let her bait you, she

dart around the room like a cornered animal. She scurries out, leaving an unsettling silence in her

carefully draws the clear liquid into the syringe, Selene's voice whispers through my mind, She'll be quiet

comfort, but, I'll take

to block out the vitriol spilling from her lips. Her features, once soft and warm, are now

Mom's Legacy

with loathing. It's hard to

up a room, and her laughter was infectious. She'd pull me into her lap, tickling me until I was breathles The memory rises unbidden, a bitersweet pang