Page 92 of Gravity

He would still be with me.

My Pop.

He would still be with me.

My chest becomes tight, and I struggle to breathe. I shake my head; tears stream down my face as I focus on the hard floor of the hospital that I now despise more than ever.

“No…” It’s barely a whisper, but the agony it unleashes in my stomach is like a double-edged sword tearing me apart. “No. You’ve got it wrong.”

“Nora, sweetheart.”

I hear my mother cry, but it’s Grayson’s body that blocks the bright lights of the hospital family room—the same room we were in not that long ago and one I’d secretly sworn to myself that I’d never see again.

Yet here we are.

Only this time, Mark has replaced my brother.

I want my brother.

I want my Pop.

I’m sorry. We did everything we could.

Nausea cripples me as my body tries to fight hard to stay up right. I need to go. I need air.

“No.” I step back from Grayson before he’s even reached me. “You’re wrong. It’s a mistake.”

“Shortcake,” he whispers.

This isn’t real. It’s a dream. A twisted nightmare that I’m going to wake from any second. With each step I take back from Grayson, my legs become weaker, and the hollow ache in my heart has spread through my body like a cancer, bleeding its way into every part of me and slowly taking me down.

I can’t breathe.

This is all wrong.

“This is wrong. They are wrong.”

I’m sorry. We did everything we could.

He’s gone.

He’s dead.

Oh God. No…

I shake my head, hoping to rid the deathly spell I’m under as tears fall. “No. This isn’t right.”

“Nora.” When Grayson tries to hold me, I push him away and step back. This time I hit the wall and have no escape. Where is Asher? I want him here. He needs to be here.

I’m sorry. We did everything we could.

No. No. No. No.

I can’t breathe.

I need to get out of here.

“Tell me they’re wrong,” I plead, needing him to make it right. “Tell me I’ve not lost him.”