way of Mia and her family.
I had no more tears to cry.
My eyes were puffy like I had gotten into a fight.
My mind kept replaying the phone call.
And everything after that.
Needing to identify her…
My stomach bubbled, I stood up and ran to the sink.
I didn’t throw up.
Even though I wanted to.
I felt like I was really drunk. The kind of drunk where you knew if you threw up, it would all go away.
I could throw up as much as I wanted but that would not bring my mother back.
Her body was going to be sent to the funeral home.
And then…
What?
I had to make every decision after that.
The sick part was that when it came to making big decisions, I always called my mother.
Now I couldn’t do that.
I heard Mia walk into the kitchen.
“Did you get sick?” she asked.
“No,” I said.
“Here. Take this.”
I looked back and she put a pill on the table.
“What’s that?”
“It’ll calm you down,” she said. “Not that you need to be told to be calm… but… eventually you do need to try and rest a little. You’re not alone, Bree. But you can’t end up hurting yourself either.”
I looked at the pill.
Then at Mia.
I shook my head.
“I understand,” she said. “I’ll just leave it there.”
“I should probably go,” I said.
“Go where?” Mia asked.
“I can’t stay here. I already chased Ted and Gabby away.”
“You didn’t chase anyone away, Bree,” Mia said. “It’s fine. This is what friendship and family is. You need to stay here tonight. I’ll sleep in bed with you. Like we used to do when we were kids.”
“I don’t want to mess up your life.”
“Mess up my life? Are you kidding me? This is terrible, Bree. Your mother…” Mia stopped and lowered her head.
She started to cry.
She had been holding it in all day for me.
I lunged from the sink and hugged her.
“No, no, no,” she said. “I can’t do this in front of you. I’m a terrible friend.”
“No you’re not,” I said. “Let it out. It helps me.”
“She was a good person,” Mia cried. “She was so strong. She raised you alone. She always checked on Gabby. When I was so paranoid all the time that something was wrong, your mother answered the phone or came over to check on her. She helped me, Bree. She got me through some tough times in the beginning.”
“I know,” I said. My throat tightened. “I know.”
Mia wept and I held her.
I managed to find a few more tears.
My mother had been a single mother from the day I was born. She put herself through nursing school when I was a newborn and she took care of me and herself.
This just wasn’t right. Or fair.
Or…
The doorbell rang.
Mia stepped away and wiped her eyes. “Who the hell is that now?”
“Maybe it’s someone for me,” I said. “I’ll answer it.”
“Yeah,” Mia said. “Go ahead. I’ll be right there. Shit. I feel like a mess.”
“Thank you, Mia,” I said. “For everything.”
She nodded.
I walked through the house to the front door.
I really didn’t care how I looked.
My mother was just killed in a car accident so looking nice was the last thing on my mind.
I opened the front door and opened my mouth to talk.
But I lost my words. And my breath.
I stepped back and covered my mouth.
“Hey, babe,” he said to me.
Sebastian was here.
I stepped to the side and felt myself going down.
Sebastian jumped into the house and caught me.
He slowly eased me down to my butt on the floor.
I just stared at him.
“How?” I whispered. “Why? How?”
“Who was it?” Mia called out.
“Just me,” Sebastian yelled.
A few seconds later Mia appeared.
She was as shocked as I was.
“Sebastian?” Mia asked.
“Why did you think I told you to get me the addresses?”
“What happened?” I asked.
“When you gave Mia the phone,” Sebastian said. “I got her address and yours. A few others. I flew up here to see you.”
“You… flew…”
“Private jet,” he said with a half smirk.
“Why?” I asked.
“I made you a promise a long time ago, Bree,” he said. “I’m keeping that promise. Come on, stand up. Talk to me.”
“Let’s get her on the couch and she can sleep there,” Mia said. “Or you can carry her to the bedroom.”
Sebastian carrying me to a bedroom? Helloooo…
My cheeks warmed up as Sebastian touched my hand and my back.
I climbed to my feet and was still shaking.
“You’re shivering,” he whispered.
“Coffee,” I said. “Way too much coffee.”
“Ah,” he said. “Do you want to stay here?”
“No,” I whispered.
“Just sit on the couch for a minute then,” he