Knocking on the door made them both jump.
“We’re starting to draw attention, brother. Might want to come out before security comes, if they haven’t already been called.” Casanova’s voice made her sigh.
“Yeah. Give us a minute,” Rocky said.
“All right,” Casanova replied.
Evonne gathered the shattered pieces of herself and put them together in a makeshift manner that would only hold for a short time.
“You good?” Rocky asked.
“Good as I’m going to get. I should see my mom.”
“I’m coming with.”
“I don—”
“Fuck that. You aren’t going into a warzone without someone to watch your back.” The determination in his voice brooked no argument.
Exhausted, she nodded. He unlocked the door and she allowed him to lead her back down the hall. Her mother’s wails of sorrow pierced her ears through the closed door and she hesitated, feeling like an outsider.
“You want to leave?” Rocky asked.
“No. I want to make sure my mom is okay first. This is the death of more than just her son.” She turned the knob and stepped inside, ignoring her father.
He stood beside the bed as stiff as the soldier he’d once been. He glared at Rocky but wisely held his tongue as they walked across the room.
Evonne knelt beside her mother, who clutched Paul’s hand. “Mom, it’s going to be okay, we’ll get you through this, okay?” The words tasted like ash. I’m a fraud comforting her when it’s my fault her son is gone.
Her mother hiccupped. “I don’t what do I do now. How can you get over this?” Her mother turned to look at her with tear-filled eyes. She’d never looked so small or broken before.
“I don’t think you ever get over it. But you can learn to live with it. Whatever you want to do I’ll help you, okay? You’re not alone.”
Her father snickered. “All of this and you still want to comfort her? Let her suffer the way she made all of us do over the years. It’s a fitting punishment.”
The words sent a chill down her spine. Her father had always been harsh but this was downright dark.
“You want to shut up or do I need to make you, old man?” Rocky sneered.
“Call off your attack dog, Evonne. People are actually mourning here.”
“Mom. I don’t want to make this harder on you. I can—I can go.” Evonne choked down her pride, ready to do what was best.
Her mother nodded her head. “I never should’ve kept all of this from you. I saw what was happening and I just—I kept quiet. I didn’t know what else to do”
“Shhh, it’s not important now, Mom. We have a chance to figure things out, okay?”
“Yes, okay.” Her mother nodded, sounding like a robot.
She released her mother’s hand. Rocky helped Evonne to her feet and she leaned over her brother.
He looked fake, lying there so still and quiet. Her brother had always been in a state of motion and commanding. This was an empty shell.
&
nbsp; She touched his hand and twitched. His temperature was dropping. Bowing her head, she said a silent goodbye to the man who’d added to so much torment over the years without knowing why. In retrospect, they’d never stood a chance, pitted against one another for reasons unknown to either of them. Until now. Respects paid, she pulled away, eager to be away from the toxic situation. “I’m ready,” she whispered.
“That’s right, leave and take your scum with you,” her father said.