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“It’s the bad traffic, honey,” Dad lied in a choked voice.
I always hated him for the way he treated my mother. He hadn’t been this frazzled or out of his mind when she was dying. However, at the moment, he was just a man who was grieving for his lover.
I hadn’t wanted to admit this to myself. It was easier to convince myself that Eva and her daughter somehow brainwashed my father into bringing them into our home.
There was no way to deny the truth staring me in the face now. My dad truly loved Eva. He hadn’t stopped crying since the time I saw him earlier. He didn’t know what to do, how to help the woman he cherished most in the world.
“I don’t think I can hold on anymore,” Eva whispered. “Brian...bring my baby to me.”
My hands balled into tight fists. I was the reason Milla couldn’t be here. I was the asshole who injured her so badly she was lying unconscious in the adjacent suite.
What have I done?I asked myself again. How could I do this?
Tears ran down Corey’s face. He was always the most easygoing among us, but also the most sensitive.
Caleb stood beside him with a stony expression.
I knew what they were thinking. We’d lost our mother to cancer too. We’d been at her side, watching the life slowly drain out of her. How could we torment another person going through the same pain as us?
Guilt was like a monster gnawing at my very bones. Pain like I hadn’t experienced before lanced through me. I was the reason this innocent woman would leave this world without saying goodbye to her only daughter.
“Hold on, love,” Dad pleaded. “She’s almost here.” He kneeled by her bed and wept.
The beeps of the machines in the room sounded more urgent and incessant. The weight of knowing what was about to happen slammed into me.
Milla loved her mother so much. She’d been so worried when she couldn’t get in touch with her. She even came to me to look for an answer.
I wanted to scream but only a sob left me.
My body trembled, my knees pushing forward so I was kneeling by my father. “Hold on a little longer, Eva,” I said in a shaky voice. “Milla’s almost here.”
Eva glanced down at me and smiled softly despite the pained, pinched expression on her face. “Take care of her, okay?” she said in a barely audible voice.
“Always,” I vowed.
Her eyes closed and suddenly, all her pain seemed to vanish. Her thin face looked serene.
“Eva?” Dad’s voice was a fearful gasp.
The incessant beeping filling the room told me the worst had come to pass. Eva was gone.
One of the nurses rushed out of the room.
Corey and Caleb moved toward me. Caleb was kind enough to grab my shoulder hard. Corey wouldn’t even look at me. Dad hugged his wife’s lifeless body and wept like a child.
The door to the room opened and one of the doctors rushed in with the nurse.
“Please, Mr. Amhurst,” the elderly doctor spoke in a gentle voice. “Let me take a look at her.”
I doubted whether Dad even heard the man. He was still clutching onto Eva and weeping.
The elderly doctor looked at me helplessly. “Can you take your father away? I need to check up on the patient. If she’s truly gone, we need to mark the time of her death.”
“Come on, Dad,” said Corey. He grabbed Dad’s shoulders and forcefully pulled him away from Eva.
“Leave me alone!” Dad screamed, his eyes looking wild and red. He fought against Corey but Caleb grabbed him from the back.
“Let the doctor have a look,” Caleb shouted. “He’s the only one who can help her.”
