Chapter 52 - A Child's Tears

*“Eyes so young, so full of pain ... Two lonely drops of winter rain ... And no tear could these eyes sustain ... For too much had they seen.” ― Shaun Hick*

***Kiya***

"How did you sleep last night, Donny?"

"I didn’t. I couldn’t stop thinking about Mom."

Adonis’ leg bounced in his seat. A stone mask chipped with his frown covered his face, his gaze glued to his mother. I sat beside him in my own seat, unsure of where to put my fidgeting hands. A classic sign of my anxiety beginning to brew.

Raina was lying in the lone hospital bed in front of us. Water and medication dripped from their bags down the tubing, swimming into her peripheral IVs inserted into the veins in both her hands. Enwrapped around her upper arm was a thick black blood pressure cuff attached to the heart monitor standing beside the head of her bed, beeping in synchrony with her heart. Adonis reached his hands out to straighten the hem of her blanket, tucked underneath her armpits. The bedding barely covered the neckline of her hospital gown, the same neckline exposing the thick gauze hidden underneath.

I watched Raina’s chest rise and fall with the steady rhythm of her life, following the pathway up to her unmoving, yet peaceful face. Someone took the time out of their day to fix her hair, so it wasn’t the fanned-out mess it was last night. It was neat with her curled ends laid on top of her shoulders.

Every inhale I took into my lungs was filled with pins and needles. I hated seeing her like this, so vulnerable. It should’ve been me in the bed. Not her.

"I’ve never seen Dad so sad before." My nephew revealed, his voice dripping with sadness. "He tried to talk to me last night, but I could tell that he didn’t want to. He’s hurt and I don’t know what to do, Auntie."

"Your dad is trying his best to keep his head on straight." I placed my hand over one of his resting on the arm rest, tucking my fingers under his palm. "He loves your mom a lot. When you love someone so much, seeing and feeling them hurt is devastating. You’d want to do anything and everything to take that pain away."

"It’s from the mate bond, right?"

"Yes. Most of it is."

"Why do I feel the hurt?" Adonis shifted his crestfallen gaze to me. "It’s because I love Mom too, right? I don’t like seeing her like this, in this bed. What if she dies?"

I scooted my seat closer to the boy, draping my arm around his shoulders. His body stiffened, but relaxed seconds later. Adonis leaned his head against my shoulder. Finding the right words to comfort him was like finding a needle in a haystack. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing, but how do I restore the little hope he had in his heart? His eyes held a silent prayer for his mother’s face to move. To show a sign that she was waking up. Adonis needed his mother more than I needed my sister.

I forced the remainder of my strength to push back my tears. I couldn’t cry in front of my nephew. He needed someone to be strong in this fucked up situation. "This hospital has wonderful doctors and nurses, Donny. They’re going to do everything in their power to take care of your mom."

"Who hurt her, Auntie? Who put her in this bed?"

I didn’t miss the anger in his tone. Odessa’s menacing eyes flashed in my vision, along with her gleeful grin, as she soaked in the sight of Raina bleeding out in my arms. Her complete disregard for her life brought life to my growing hatred against her. The lack of remorse in her voice marked her spot in line to meet Death at its door.

She has gone back into hiding, along with Jonathan and the rest of his hounds. She slipped away at the first opportunity. But I swear to Selene, once I get my hands on her again, I’ll tear her head from her body and keep it as a trophy.

"The one who hurt her will be punished, Donny. I promise you that."

"Why did they do it?"

"Sometimes, there isn’t a reason. Other times, the reason is too complicated to explain. But no matter the reason, what they did was wrong, and they will have to answer for it."

Adonis nodded, expelling a deep sigh from his lips. "Do you think Mom can hear us?"

"I believe so." My cheek pressed against his soft curly hair. Rosemary wafted from his strands into my nose, alongside a deeper, more hidden scent of caramel. "She’s unconscious, but she can still hear."

"It’s weird to have a conversation with Mom when she can’t talk back."

"It is awkward, but it can help to wake her up faster. And I think your mother would like that very much. It can get lonely in a hospital room."

Adonis’ head shot up, pushing mine away. "I don’t want Mom to feel lonely. Is there anything else I can do to help?"

Raina was lucky to have a son who loved her so much. My lips stretched into a smile. "What did your mom do for you to take away your loneliness?"

"She and Dad would tell me stories before bed. But I’m too old for them now."

I raised an eyebrow. "Old? Adonis, you’re almost ten."

"Exactly! It’s the double-digits age. I’m closer to a teenager than a kid."

My smile grew wider. Goddess, I love this kid. "Don’t be in such a rush to grow up, Donny. Enjoy being a kid with the time you have left."

He rolled his eyes. "I rather have my wolf."

"He’s coming. You just have to wait a few more years."

Donny released an impatient groan, pulling a bout of laughter from my throat. Suddenly, his soft emeralds shone like the jewel itself. With tears. "I’m happy you’re here, Auntie. I’m scared. Grandma and Grandpa died in hospital beds, and I don’t want the same to happen to Mom."

My heart slammed on its breaks. Memories of the previous night came rushing back to Adonis mentioning this sentiment, along with Valerian placing blame for their deaths on me. I took in a shaky breath. I didn’t want to know how they died. It wasn’t the right time, and that’s if I ever change my mind. I held Adonis’ gaze, squeezing his shoulder a little tighter than normal. "That won’t happen to your mom."

"How do you know?"

"Because your mother is fighting to keep herself alive as we speak. She loves you, your sister, and your dad more than life itself. She wants to wake up as much as you do. You must keep believing in her, Donny. It will give her the strength she needs to get up off of that bed and hug you again. "

And I believed that. One hundred percent.

My nephew searched my face, reaching for my hands with his own to hold them. "I believe you, Auntie. She will wake up."

‘*You hear that, Raina*?’ I thought to myself when I looked over at her slumbering form. ‘*You better wake up for your little boy and little girl*.’

I moved forward and pressed my lips to the soft skin on his forehead, pouring all the love I had for him through the kiss. This precious child doesn’t know his own strength. I hope one day he does. I replaced my lips with my forehead, bringing a hand up to cup the back of his head. "Donny, I need to tell you something. Your uncle and I will be leaving for some time."

Adonis pulled back, dropping his jaw in shock. "Leaving? Where will you be going?"

"Your uncle, Aunt Nuria, and I will be traveling with a few others to find an important tool that we’ll use to stop the people who hurt your mom. We will be flying out of Oregon, and eventually, out of the country."

"I wanna help!" He cried, jumping on his feet. "We can work together and—!"

"No." I shook my head. "It’s too dangerous. I need you to stay here, where you’re safest. Your father will never forgive me if I even considered taking you with me."

"But…" His bottom lip quivered. "I want to do something…"

"What I need you to do is to make sure Orchid is alright. She’s just as scared as you are. Your baby sister needs her big brother around."

"We need our auntie too."

Why doesn’t Adonis just shoot me in the heart and get it over with? It hurt to hear that because I knew it was true. Sighing to myself, I tried to think of an alternative, and that was when my eyes were pulled to a maroon cell phone resting on the overbed table. "That’s your mom’s phone."

Adonis nodded.

"Do you know how to use it?"

He scoffed. "Auntie, *everyone* knows how to use a cell phone."

"Oh, excuse me, Mr. Tech Genius." Swiping Raina’s cell phone, I realized that I didn’t know her passcode. Adonis didn’t know it either. I wasn’t expecting to play the guessing game with the four unknown digits, but I tried Orchid, Adonis, and Valerian’s birthdates. None of them worked. I tried Raina’s, which was on November 11th. Nothing. As a last-ditch effort, I tried mine.

It worked.

Swallowing the lump lodged in my throat, I scrolled through her contacts and saw my name was listed in the favorites category. I handed the phone back to Adonis. "I want you to keep your mother’s phone and text me at any time, even if you just want to talk for a minute. There will be moments where I won’t respond right away, but I want you to keep texting or calling anyway. I’ll do my best to get back to you when I can. Will you do that for me, Donny?"

His small fingers tightened around the device, pulling it toward his chest, directly over his heart. "I will." He blinked back his tears, but a few betrayed his efforts and slid down his face. "Don’t get hurt, okay Auntie?"

I cupped his cheek, wiping a tear away with my thumb. "I’ll do my best, I promise."

All of a sudden, Adonis vaulted forward and enveloped his smaller body around me in a fierce hug. His head went to the crook of my neck, hiding his entire face behind the curtain of my hair. Sniffle. Sniffle. I returned his hug with my own, squeezing him in hopes of soaking up all of his pain.

My heart wouldn’t stop hurting.

Something tugged at the hem of my shirt. My eyes lowered to see little Orchid with the same tears in her deep browns. She reached toward me and flapped her hands. With no hesitation, I brought down an arm and drew my niece into me. The sweet little girl tucked herself in between her brother and me, her face hidden in my torso.

My heart was now at war. I didn’t want to leave them, but I had to. I couldn’t allow the enemy to take any more from them than what they already had.

Eyes burned into the back of my head. My back was taut when the aroma of apples and patchouli floated into my nose. I didn’t have to turn to see who was lingering by the door. All I could do was hope that one day, we’d sort out our differences and get along like family.

This family needed Raina. She was the glue that kept them together. I stared long and hard at her face again.

*Raina, you need to wake up*. *Your kids need you*. *Your husband needs you*.

*I need my sister back*.