AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Oh, Mason, Myles. It’s your grandpa, he passed away last night.”
What?
“No, he didn’t,” Myles says as if he thinks she’s pulling a sick joke on us.
This isn't good. Maybe more than bad, it’s beyond fucked up. She’s been waiting for us to make it home to tell us we’ve lost Grumps, and we’ve been driving home to tell her her husband is gone. The universe is sure enough putting us through the shit. If this isn’t our darkest nightmare, I don’t know what would be.
I step down out of the van, and she’s in my arms and then pulls Myles in closer.
“I didn’t want to tell you over the phone. He went into his sleep. It was peaceful,” she sobs.
Am I numb?
I don’t have any fucking idea what I’m feeling anymore.
She pulls away from us and looks around. “Where’s your dad? Before I kick his ass for not picking up my calls, I need him to hold me.”
The lines between her brows deepen the longer she can’t set eyes on him.
“Mom. We should go inside,” I start.
It would always be me and Myles who broke the news to her, but now she’s standing before me, already grieving for one man in her life, I’m stalling.
“Mason, tell me where your father is.”
“Listen to Mase, Mom. Let’s…”
“There’s only one reason why you two want to go inside to talk. I can’t see my husband here… where is he?” her voice breaks, and fresh tears fill her eyes.
“He’s gone, Mom. He was shot when we went in to save Myles.”
Her grief-laden gaze slowly rolls between us, and then she shakes her head.
“No. That’s not what happened because your dad wouldn’t let me lose my father and him in one go. He’d be here for me. Go get him and tell him that I’m losing patience now.”
“Mom…” I go to reach out to her, but she quickly steps out of my reach and looks around.
Holding herself tightly, she storms by us and over toward the brothers.
“Cas, tell me it isn’t true!”
When he hangs his head, it’s all the answer she needs. From where we stand, we see the moment her legs buckle from under her.
Her cries fill the air, and Sparky drops to his knees and wraps his arms around her.
The old ladies… Alannah, Bonnie, Holly, Harper, Nina… they come around from the houses, and Alannah and Bonnie are the first to reach my Mom. Bonnie takes Sparky’s place, and Alannah turns to Cas.
I see her mouth moving, but I don’t need to hear her to know what she’s asking.
I stand, frozen in place, watching Mom’s world come apart, knowing there’s nothing we can do to ease her pain.
Slade comes out of the bar, and Zach is the one to tell him what’s going on. He heads straight to the truck and demands the prospect open it up. Myles and I, shoulder to shoulder, watch on as brothers jump up into the truck and, moments later, carry our father out.
Mom’s cries die out, and Bonnie and Alannah help her up onto her feet. She follows Dad into the bar, and slowly, the brothers follow. We’ve seen death in the club, but this feels different. Myles and I remain where we are. Left alone in the now empty space, we look to one another.
We haven’t only lost our father, we’ve lost one of the most extraordinary men we ever had the privilege of knowing.
