Reign A Romance Anthology - Nina Levine Page 0,147

bringing my ear to her mouth to check if she is breathing.

But there’s nothing.

Adrenaline surges through me as my eyes widen, and I check for her pulse.

I can’t feel anything.

Tears prick my eyes as panic washes over me.

“Dad!” I scream at the top of my lungs as tears slide down my face so fast, I can hardly see.

“Mom, please. No. I’m not ready. Mom… Mom… Mommy!” I lean down, cuddling into her as Dad runs into the room as I sob against Mom’s chest.

“Savanah, what’s wro…” He takes one look at Mom. “No, Ellie!” Dad rushes over, sitting on the edge of the bed, picking up her fingers. His eyes flood with tears as he brings her hand to his lips, kissing her softly. “My love.” His palm comes out splaying across my back comfortingly as I completely lose myself in my grief. “Thank you for taking her out today, Savanah. Her last day was the best she’s had in years,” Dad whispers.

I try to catch my breath. “She should have been resting. I wore her out.”

He grips my chin, forcing my eyes to his. “It was her time to go, Savanah. You gave her the best last day anyone could ever hope for. She let go because you gave her all she needed. Hope and faith that this family will be okay without her.”

I swipe my nose with the back of my hand. “Will we? Be okay without her?”

Dad pulls me to him into a tight embrace. “Of course, we’re going to be. She made us strong. Now, we have to keep being strong for her.”

I pull back, looking down at my mother. “I will be. I’ll be strong for you, Momma. I promise.”

10

Savanah

Dad is inside dealing with everything.

I feel fucking lost.

My mom is gone.

I can’t believe after the day we had today, after hearing her laughter, after seeing her so full of life, it was all extinguished in a single breath.

This doesn’t even seem real.

It’s like I know what’s happening, but I simply can’t process the information.

Sitting on the porch swing out the back of our family home, I wrap the blanket tighter around me for comfort. Christian is inside with Dad. He’s stepping up, doing the eldest-child thing. My little sister, Isabella, is on her way home from a work trip.

The entire family will be here, except for one main person.

Mom.

A fat tear rolls down my cheek. I wipe it away as a shadow catches my attention at the side of the house. I shift my eyes to see Hunter. Normally, the sight of him would excite me. Not now, though. Right now, I just want to be left alone, but he obviously didn’t get the memo.

He walks up the stairs, sitting quietly next to me. He doesn’t say anything, just moves his arm out, pulling me to him.

My insides squeeze at the gesture.

Maybe I don’t want to be alone after all.

I slide into Hunter, clinging on for dear life. My face nuzzling into his chest as I cry into his crisp, white shirt. He holds me so fucking tight. He’s exactly the comfort I need right now.

“I’m here, Sav. I’m right here.” His voice is soft as his finger moves under my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “I’m not going anywhere tonight.”

I sniffle and look up. He presses his forehead to mine comfortingly. The gesture is sweet and soothing as I softly cry. But right now, I don’t want to be soothed. I want to forget. My eyes meet his, the flecks of gold in his amber eyes shining bright as he stares at me. His hand sweeps out, caressing the side of my face. My fingers loop up around him, the hair at the base of his neck tickling my fingertips as I thread my fingers through.

The atmosphere around us changes. It electrifies, and for a moment, a brief moment, I forget about everything. Hunter is here when no one else in the world cared to check on me. He’s here for me, and I have a feeling he always will be. It might be the grief talking, or maybe my mother’s last words to me about finding a family with Hunter, but something is making me want to try. Or maybe it’s just the fact that right now, more than anything, the way he’s looking at me is freaking intoxicating, and all I want to do is kiss him.

So, I pull him forward, his eyes locking on mine as the energy