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.

looking straight forward as the elevator numbers change

been avoiding thinking about my mom, or her

But habits are really, really

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

yet

did they move her?" I ask, confusion lacing

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

to ease my apprehension as we enter the room. Two of our guards take up positions outside, whil the other two follow us in their presence both reassuring and

suffocating.

steady beep of machines filling the silence. Vanessa makes her

bags hanging beside the bed,

the bed, my eyes drawn to the frail figure beneath the sheets. The

much smaller, her cheeks

long for

taking its toll," Vanessa murmurs, her voice tinged with

resignation.

But when they land on me, they sharpen,

voice thin and brittle.

hits me like a physical blow, but I stand firm,

nothing.

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

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Mom's Legacy

is vile, coming out of

their daughter so much that even the sound of her cough is

you're here, aren't

filled with clear liquid. "We're about to give you something for your agitation." "I wouldn't be agitated if

much as I'm trying not to flinch at

keeps me grounded. Don't let her

and syringe from the nurse, whose eyes dart around the room like a cornered animal. She scurries out, leaving an unsettling silence in her wake,

liquid into the syringe, Selene's voice whispers through my

comfort, but, I'll take what I

out the vitriol spilling from her

Mom's

It's hard to

laughter was infectious. She'd pull me into her lap, tickling me