the same face.
She doesn’t know me. She doesn’t remember any of us. Not her own daughters, and not the girl who had once become like a daughter to her.
It’s my mom, she’s alive, and she doesn’t remember me. I place my hand over my nonexistent bump. I couldn’t imagine forgetting my baby or how my baby would feel to be forgotten. I know, in this moment, I’m devastated all over again.
“My head hurts,” she whispers as she looks away from me to the doctor who was here when we arrived.
“Yes,” Dr. Justice nods and steps forward. “That’s to be expected. Maybe we should cut this visit short for now.”
“What?” I exhale.
I have so many questions. I know she probably doesn’t have answers and at this point we don’t know if she ever will. I’m still reeling over the fact that it’s really her. It’s my mom.
“I’m sorry. This has to be very overwhelming for all parties. However, I do believe with some rest we will be able to relieve stress on everyone’s part.”
I want to scream that she’s already rested. Nothing has changed all day and she’s been sleeping off and on. What the hell will rest do to make her remember me? However, I bite the words and my tears back.
“Come on, Eva,” Misty says, tugging me from the room.
I move with her, only because I’m in shock. I wrap my arms around my middle. I need Owen’s arms around me. He would know how to make me feel better.
He would at least know how to make sense of this. Owen sees what no one else sees. At least at work that’s the way it is.
I need that now. I need him to see what we have missed for the last six years. How has my mom been here and we’ve not known about it?
I stop in my tracks as the nurse’s words come back to me. ‘I wasn’t able to get in touch with Mr. Kennedy or King Kennedy.’ My mind starts to spin. This can’t be happening. Why now?
Oh, my God. It’s not impossible. I mean, Mom is sitting in that bed. What if Cage is still alive? I turn out of Misty’s arms.
“Where is that nurse?” I ask.
“She’s downstairs,” Gutter offers as he looks at me questioningly.
“What’s going on?” Sal asks.
“I have a question for her. I need to talk to her,” I say and start for downstairs.
Just then the doctor steps out of the room. I don’t want to hear anything else he has to say. He’s been saying a bunch of nothing since we got here. He’s a nice man, but the answers I want and need are downstairs.
Misty is on my heels. I ignore her and continue down the stairs. When the nurse comes into view, I move faster to approach her.
“I want to see the call sheet,” I demand.
“What?” she asks with a look of confusion.
“I want to see the call sheet. The list for the next of kin. Show it to me now.”
“Oh, okay,” she replies as she wrings her hands.
She scurries over to the den and picks up a paper off the desk. I snatch it from her hand and pull my phone from my pocket. I look down at the page and my heart squeezes.
At the top of the list it says Mr. Kennedy. No first name is given. I know it’s not King because his name is second on the list.
I quickly dial the number. It rings twice before the line picks up. My heart aches as the voice on the other end meets my ears. It’s not the voice I thought it would be, but I think that hurts more.
“Hello,” the person I’ve known since I was a little girl answers in his deep voice.
“Mix,” I sob.
“Eva? Is everything all right?” he asks in concern. “How’d you get this number?”
“My mom just woke up,” is all I can say. I’m crushed to find out someone I’ve trusted so much could keep something like this from me.
“What?” Mix says but I can’t.
I pull the phone from my ear and hand it to Misty. “Talk to your dad.” I push the phone into her chest and walk off. I need fresh air.
I think I would have rather had been right. I wish it was Cage that answered the phone. To know that Mix has known all this time… it plain hurts.
I stumble out of the front door of the large home my mother has literally been asleep in for