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.

•

10:27

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.

forward as

been avoiding thinking about my mom, or her wolf. Avoidance has always been my

No. But habits are really,

walk to my mother's room feels longer than it should, each step heavy with dread. Selene presses close to my side, her warmth a small comfort in the sterile hallway. After a few turns, I realize

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

they move her?" I

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

up positions outside, whil the other two follow us in their presence both

suffocating.

silence. Vanessa makes her way to the bed

She checks the IV bags hanging

near the foot of the bed, my eyes drawn to the frail figure beneath the sheets. The sight of her steals my breath. It's only been a

much smaller, her cheeks hollow and skin

not long

is taking its toll," Vanessa murmurs, her voice tinged with something I can't quite place. Pity,

resignation.

eyes flutter open. They're dull, lacking the fire I've always associated with her. But when they land on me, they sharpen, a glare

voice thin and brittle.

hits me like a physical blow, but I

nothing.

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 here for you."My honesty cuts through the air between

10:27

317

Mom's

vile, coming out of

that even the sound of

yet you're

vial filled with clear liquid. "We're about to

not to flinch at the

Don't let her bait you, she whispers in my

animal. She scurries out, leaving an unsettling silence in her wake, broken only by the beeping machines Questions burn on my tongue, but I swallow them back. Now's

clear liquid into the syringe, Selene's voice whispers

but, I'll

face, trying to block out the vitriol spilling

Ava: Mom's Legacy

It's hard to

the mother I remember from my earliest years. Back then, her smile could light 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,