Kiss To Forget (Blairwood University #2) - Anna B. Doe Page 0,96
so I figured I might as well be useful.
After the door finally eased open, Nixon came out with a sleeping Jade in his arms. Even with her eyes closed, I could see how puffy they were, and her skin was all red from crying. I helped him take her to her room, thankful that at least one of them is out and doesn’t have to face reality, at least for a little bit.
Shaking the memories away, I look at my friends. “Since Christmas. Well, before. But that’s when they found out it was terminal.”
That’s when their father left them, leaving them to deal with their mother’s illness and slow death all on their own. But I don’t say that out loud. If and when Nixon is ready, he’ll share that.
Three months.
That’s how long it took for the disease to claim her.
Three months.
It feels like barely enough time, but at the same time, a lifetime.
“Dammit.” Hayden turns around, running his hands through his hair. “Why didn’t he say anything?”
Callie pulls back and looks at me. “And how did you know?”
Sighing, I look around the group. If Nixon had only said the word, they would have been with him all the way. “He didn’t want to burden anybody with it. And I found out by accident. That day when my car broke down. I called you, remember?” I turn to Callie, and she nods. “There was an emergency, so he brought me here with him. It wasn’t exactly planned.”
We stand in the doorway for a while, nobody saying anything. What is there to say, really? Nixon made a choice that he thought was best for him, and nobody can fault him for it.
“Where is he?” Maddox asks, breaking the tense silence.
I offer him a grateful smile. Out of all the guys, I know him the least, but he seems like a nice guy. “The last I saw him, he was in the study making arrangements.”
I offered to help him, although I don’t have a clue about organizing a funeral, but he said he needed to do this on his own, so I left him and a cup of coffee in the study.
Shifting my weight from one leg to another, I say, “I didn’t tell him I called you guys. I’m not sure if he would have wanted you here, but I couldn’t let him deal with this all on his own.”
Hayden puts his hand on my shoulder, giving me a firm squeeze. “You did good.”
I nod, although I’m skeptical about it.
I went against Nixon’s wishes. It’s the right thing to do, I’m sure of it, although I’m not certain he’ll see it that way, but I’ll deal with that fallout later.
“Where is the study?”
“Down the hallway, last door on the right.”
Hayden nods and heads that way, Zane and Maddox at his heels.
Callie leans her head on my shoulder as we watch the boys disappear down the hallway.
“How are you doing?” she asks softly.
“My mom isn’t the one who died.”
“Yasmin…”
“Terrible,” I concede, relaxing against her. “She was so young, so full of life. It’s not fair.”
“A lot of things in life aren’t.”
If anybody knows that all too well, it’s definitely Callie.
Chapter Thirty-Four
NIXON
“Are you angry with me?”
A hand touches my shoulder, startling me from my thoughts.
I lift my head, meeting Yasmin’s eyes in the reflection in the mirror. She’s wearing a simple black dress with long sleeves, her hair pulled back in a bun, just a bare hint of makeup on her face.
Even now, she looks so beautiful it almost hurts to look at her. My ray of sunshine, pulling me through all of this darkness.
I close my eyes, a stab of guilt piercing my heart.
Mom’s been gone three days, and the pain is as raw as it was that night when we watched her take her last breath. And while I’m devastated that she’s gone, devastated I’ll never hear her voice or see her smile again, a part of me is relieved. Happy even. Because she’s finally free. Free of all the hurt, all the pain and suffering.
Blinking the memory away, I concentrate on here and now. I pull at the knot of my tie, fixing it with more force than necessary. “Why would I be?”
Instead of pulling back, Yasmin forces me to turn around and face her. “I know you didn’t want to tell your friends and I called them regardless.”
“No, it’s…” Sighing, I let my hands fall to my sides. “It’s fine. I’m glad they’re here.”