“I love you all so much. Growing up tall, powerful, and beautiful shouldn’t be a problem for you all; it’s in your genes…so stay healthy, and remember I will always watch out for you.”
That was it. The vision we all saw of Mel in the moment drifted off and when it did, so did the smiles on their faces…not completely, but it was like they realized all over again she wasn’t really there. They were better than before, but this would never heal…
“Let’s go to bed,” I said to them, lifting the sheets up for them to crawl under.
“Dad, we don’t need to be tucked in.” Ethan made a face, grabbing a book off his side of the table to read.
“Speak for yourself.” Dona grinned proudly, lifting her arms like she was five again.
“Goodnight, Dad,” Wyatt muttered, lifting his arms too, his cheeks red.
“I’ll be back later, now sleep.” I kissed Dona’s forehead, placing my hands on their foreheads.
Limping around the bed, the pain in my leg getting much worse, I moved to the front of the room with my mother.
“Mel had a note for you too…I put it in your room, along with stronger meds.” She kissed my cheek. “I love you, sweetheart.”
“Love you too, Ma.”
Closing the door behind her, I put my head against it, debating whether or not to go. My heart couldn’t take much more today…I was barely hanging on.
But I walked toward the doors anyway and passed through Dona and Wyatt’s room. Wyatt wanted her gone now, but Dona still liked sharing a room; I gave it another year before they drove each other insane. Entering our room, the pain hit me like a wave when I opened the door. It felt different there.
I saw the white envelope on my desk and my throat went dry. What could she possibly have to say…when had she even written this goddamn letter?
Reaching for it, my hands shook as I ripped it open.
I’m sorry.
That was it?
“Damn you Melody…damn you.” I turned around and chucked the paper across the room. “THAT’S IT? REALLY MEL!” I screamed up at the sky.
“As hard as it is for me to say sorry, that’s saying a lot isn’t?”
I froze. I stopped breathing. I wasn’t sure if I was about to be sick or just going crazy.
“I’m not going to disappear if you turn around, I’m not a ghost,” she said.
I couldn’t turn around. I just stood there.
I’m going insane. I’ve lost my fucking mind. Just fucking brilliant, my kids are going to lock me up in an asylum.
“Liam, it’s me. I’m really here.”
“You can’t really be here,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I saw you…dead…cold and very dead. I looked into your coffin before they buried you…so I’m losing my mind—”
“It was me…just… We made it seem like I was really dead.”
I turned around, the ache in my chest from what I was sure was either a heart attack, stroke, or just plain rage was the only thing keeping from speaking. There she stood in jeans and a casual shirt. Her brown eyes were puffy from what I could only guess was crying…why? I had no goddamn clue, because I was the one who had supposedly lost a spouse.
“We?” was the only word that came from my mouth.
“Evelyn, Frankie, and me. The biochemist Fedel found…he turned out to be real useful—”
I couldn’t think straight. I grabbed her by the neck and slammed her body into the wall. “HAVE YOU LOST YOUR DAMN MIND?”
“Liam…hear me out!”