Diane ignored her comments. “Your constant nagging and unrealistic expectations probably caused his aneurysm.” The moment the words left her mouth, she wished she could take them back at the shattered expression on her mother’s face.
“Mom…I—”
Tessa held up her hand, stopping her. “You’re right. It is my fault your father is dead. I caused his aneurysm. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t blame myself, so thank you for letting me know you feel the same way, too.” Her lips rose in a disturbing smile while her eyes shone with unshed tears.
“Mom, I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t blame you,” Diane said feebly.
“It’s fine,” Tessa replied. “I’m on my way out to do what I do best. Lock up when you leave.” With that, she headed for the door.
Diane watched helplessly as her mother closed the door behind her. At the sound of the car backing out, she released a strangled sob and rested her head on the wall in the same position where the portrait used to be. She didn’t know what had come over her for her to say such hurtful things to her mother. At the moment, she had been so angry with her for refusing to give her the money, but in her jabs meant to hurt her mother, she had ended up hurting herself as well. Bev’s words came blaring through her head.Did she hate her mother?Another round of tears wracked her body.
Her phone vibrated against her thigh. Wiping her face, she took it out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID. Her brow furrowed at the unknown number.
“Hello?”
“Hello. Is this Diane?”
“Um, yes. I’m Diane,” she confirmed to the male voice at the other end of the line.
“Diane, this is Joshua.”
Her brows scrunched further in confusion, trying to figure out if she knew this person.
“I’m Beverly’s grandson.”
“Oh, Joshua. Hi, what can I do for you?” she asked, confused as to why he would be calling her.
“Grandma met in an accident, and she’s in the hospital. I’m at least three days away from her, and I didn’t know who else to call.”
“It’s okay. I’m glad you called. Bev is a dear friend to me. I’ll stay with her until you get here,” she assured him.
“Thank you. I owe you so much for being there for her.”
“You owe me nothing. As I said, Bev is dear to me. Just let me know exactly where she is, and I’ll head there now,” she instructed.
After taking the information, she left the house and headed for Oak Harbor Medical, the same hospital where her mother worked. Guilt flitted through her mind before she brought it back to her worry for Bev. She hoped it wasn’t anything too bad.
“Hi, Diane. If you’re looking for your mother, she’s over by the pediatric ward,” Tessa’s friend Callie, informed her.
“Hi, Callie. Actually, I’m not. I’m here to see a patient named Beverly Barton.”
“Let me see. It says she is in room 12 here, but we normally only allow family.”
“Yeah, I know, but her grandson is in the Army and won’t make it here in time. He asked me to check on her,” she explained.
“All right, you can go in, but please don’t let your mother see you.”
“Believe me, I don’t want her to see me either,” she replied.
She left the nurses' station and walked down the hall to room 12. Gently, she opened the door and stepped in. Bev lay motionless, hooked up to a few machines. A chill ran down Diane’s spine as she looked at how feeble her friend looked. She wished there was something she could do to help her. In any case, she would be there for her until her grandson arrived.
ChapterNineteen
Tessa
The numbing pain was almost too much for Tessa to bear as she went through her routine checks in the hospital, observing the nurses on the wards and making sure everything was running smoothly. Her chest was tight, and her heart felt like it wanted to break free of its confines to let everyone know she wasn't okay. Diane's words echoed in her mind like a judge's gavel coming down hard on his bench as he concluded the guilty verdict to be final.
“You caused Dad's aneurysm. You're the reason he's dead.”
