Page 55 of Someone Save My Midlife Tonight
I had to admit, it was off-putting to be sneered at by Tom Hanks, fake or not.
“The third exists, Angel of Mercy,” It snarled. “You’ve hidden her in a safehouse.”
Shit. It had to be Tory. Why didn’t we think of that? She was at Candy Vargo’s when the zombies had paid a visit. Shewas old. She didn’t look it, but that was beside the point. The only piece of the puzzle that didn’t fit was the human-ish part. The positive amidst all the horrible was that June and Jennifer were safe.
“Tory,” Gideon murmured under his breath.
“Bingo.”
“Oh my gosh y’all,” Jennifer yelled from the front porch, holding her laptop high. She was smiling, but also seemed shaky and pale. “I found out. I know who my pappy is!”
Fake Tom Hanks’ eyes narrowed to slits and he zoned in on Jennifer. I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Was the Higher Power about to start making good on the threat of destroying everything and everyone we loved?
Candy Vargo, made a run for Jennifer to shove her back into the house.
She was too late.
In a screaming fit of rage, Fake Tom Hanks sent a bolt of electricity straight at Jennifer’s chest. The expression of shock and then agony on my dear friend’s face made me scream.
As she fell to the ground, blood gushed from the wound. “Did Tom Hank’s just murder me? That’s just awful,” she choked out right before she passed out.
Tim’s scream sounded inhuman. He was next to Jennifer so fast I didn’t see him move. He held his dying friend in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably. Tim was a healer and was sending magic through her body as fast as he could. It wasn’t working. Gram and Mr. Jackson hovered above and wailed. Candy held the laptop in her hands as June and Heather attempted to stop the bleeding to no avail. Everyone was crying.
Fake Tom Hanks had a few parting words. “My work here is done,” he shouted gleefully. “The third has been destroyed. There willbe no trinity now.”
I felt like an animal, and Fake Tom Hanks was my prey. I wanted It dead. It was wrong. I knew and I didn’t care. I wasn’t thinking straight. Maybe if I just beat the living hell out of It, that would work. Quickly reminding myself that murder was off the table, I took off at a sprint that rendered me invisible. That bitch was going down. The Higher Power had just killed a human—an innocent human. My friend. Jennifer wasn’t part of the trinity. That wasn’t possible. How in the hell was a human part of an Immortal trinity?”
Right as I was about to pounce on my prey, the Higher Power disappeared in a blast of rainbow glitter. I was lying face-down in the dirt where Fake Tom Hanks had stood only seconds ago. I’d failed.
Gideon picked me up and held me tight. I felt another set of arms go around me and a curly-haired head rest on my shoulder. The arms were female. Heather, Catriona and June were across the yard with Jennifer. Who was hugging me?
“Hi, mom,” Alana Catherine said when I turned my head to figure the mystery out.
She wasn’t a baby. She was the twenty-year-old version, who I’d met on the Higher Power’s plane.
“Oh my God,” I cried out as I threw myself at her and held her tight. “Why? How?”
“Sorry, I’m a little late,” she said, smiling at me. “I kept trying, but wasn’t able to age until now.”
Gideon was completely shell-shocked. He stared at our daughter in wonder. She glanced over at her dad and smiled.
“Hi, dad,” she greeted him.
“Umm… hi,” he choked out. “Is this… you know… umm… permanent?”
Alana Catherine shrugged. “Not sure, but I’m here for a reason. We have work to do.”
She took each of our hands in hers and led us to where Jennifer lay dying in Tim’s arms. The sight was heartbreaking, and my tears wouldn’t stop. I immediately dropped to the ground and put my hands on her cold body. With all I had, I let my magic flow into her.
Shitty Ritchie and the grown version of Alana Catherine stood together side by side. They looked down at Jennifer with pure sadness in their eyes. I wasn’t convinced that Jennifer was the third of the trinity, but their expressions gave me pause.
“Her chest isn’t moving,” June said in a hushed tone.
Charlie touched Jennifer’s forehead and closed his eyes. “She’s not gone yet.”
Heather was still frantically trying to stop the blood seeping out of Jennifer’s chest. “How is she still alive? A human can’t withstand that kind of blow.”
“Welp,” Candy Vargo said, staring slack-jawed at the computer screen. “I do believe I can answer that fuckin’ question.”
