My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 635

Chapter 635

He held me tighter.

“They were supposed to live. They were supposed to get another chance…”

His hand slowly moved through my hair, stopping before it reached the bandage, “I know,” he whispered. “Grieve, cry, do whatever, I’m right here,” his thumb brushed away another tear, “And I promise you… I’ll find whoever did this to your friends. Then I’ll bring them to you… and you can decide what happens next.”

I cried until my chest hurt, until my throat burned, until there were no words left, only grief, loss and the quiet sound of Raphael’s heartbeat beneath my ear as he held me together while everything inside me fell apart.

I sat on one side of Mom’s bed and Jules sat on the other, neither of us spoke for a long time. The machines did enough talking for everyone.

Mom lay beneath the blankets, her body so small now that it hardly looked like it belonged to the woman who used to carry both of us in her arms.

Her cheeks had become hollow. The bones beneath her skin stood out more every day.

The muscles in her hands had wasted away until her wedding ring had to be tied in place with a thin piece of ribbon so it wouldn’t slip off.

Her breathing looked exhausting. Every breath seemed like something she had to fight for.

The machine beside her did part of the work now, pushing air into lungs that no longer wanted to listen.

Even sleeping looked difficult.

A strand of hair rested across her forehead. I reached over and gently tucked it behind her ear.

I reached across the bed and found Jules’ hand. She immediately squeezed mine hard. I looked at her. She had been crying again.

I could tell because her eyelids were swollen, even though she’d clearly washed her face before coming in here.

Without thinking, I opened one arm. She climbed onto the edge of my chair and leaned against me. I wrapped both arms around her. She fit there so easily.

“I hate this,” she whispered, “I want Mom back.”

“So do I.”

She wiped her nose on the sleeve of her hoodie.

“I don’t like the machines.”

“I don’t either.”

“I don’t like hospitals.”

“We’re not in one.”

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