Chapter 283: Shards of Yesterday
Easter~
I woke up to the sound of Rose crying.
At first, I didn’t know where I was. The living room lights were still on, flickering against the dusk-darkened windows. My cheek was pressed against the carpet, and my body ached like I’d been trampled. A soft wail pierced the fog in my brain, tugging at my chest until it burned.
"Mommy... mommy, wake up..." Rose sobbed, her little hands patting my face with desperate urgency. "Please wake up... don’t go away... please... mommy..."
I groaned softly, forcing my heavy eyelids open. Her tear-streaked face hovered over mine, blotchy and red with worry. Her curls were tangled and frizzy from tugging them in fear.
"Oh... bunny..." My voice came out cracked and dry as I pushed myself up with trembling arms. Pain sliced through my temples, but I ignored it, gathering her into my arms. She clung to me like a drowning kitten, her sobs shaking her tiny chest. "Shhh... it’s okay... mommy’s okay..."
"No you’re not!" she wailed, beating her fists lightly against my shoulders. "You fell down! You didn’t wake up for a long time! I thought... I thought you were dead like in the movies! Don’t die, mommy! Please don’t die!"
My heart broke at the raw terror in her voice. Tears blurred my own vision as I pulled her tighter into my chest, burying my face in her hair. She smelled like sweat, baby shampoo, and fear. My beautiful, precious little girl.
"I’m so sorry," I whispered, kissing her forehead again and again. "I’m so sorry I scared you... I promise I’m okay... I promise..."
We stayed like that for a while, huddled together on the carpet as the world spun around me. Her sobs quietened to hiccups, her little fingers curled into my cardigan like she was afraid I’d vanish if she let go.
When I finally managed to sit up, my head felt like it was stuffed with cotton and nails. I rested my palm against my temples, squeezing my eyes shut. The flashes... the memories... they came back to me in sharp, broken shards.
Jacob’s eyes blazing with something primal as he grabbed me by the waist, teleporting us out of the old house where I lived with Ruben.