Drew’s hand tightened on mine as he leaned down and buried his face in my hair to let out a shaky, soft cry. Everything he’d been holding back surfaced as he cried into my hair while he held my hand. His big shoulders shook as he wept, making my eyes sting and my forehead tight with the sobs bubbling in my chest. My husband’s pain became mine. He was a strong man, the stubborn one, my rock I leaned against. I was now the one he leaned on, needing the comfort.
I raised my trembling hand, laying the back of it over my mouth to muffle the sob that slipped loose from the tight lid I had on them.
Today was a painful day we wouldn’t soon forget.
I wouldn’t forget.
Dr. Williams talked to me, but it fell on deaf ears as I sunk into myself and got lost in my world of utter pain.
Through it all, I prayed. But this time, not to just God. But to anyone who heard me and would answer.
Please. Let this be a mistake. Don’t let my baby actually be dead. Let there be a miracle... Don’t take my blessing away. The world needs her. He needs her.
I wasn’t sure whohewas. The little slip at the end of my prayer came suddenly because of the connection I had with my daughter until today. It wasn’t just my husband who needed her. But there was a different man out there who needed my daughter. With the sliver of connection I had with her, I knew this man wasn’t someone to be concerned about. It didn’t feel wrong. It was pure, wholesome, and ran deep to the very root of who she was.
And I prayed harder for the miracle to happen. For my daughter to somehow come back to me. Because through her, somehow, I felthispain and desperation, too.
ChapterOne
Ifelt so light, but at the same time, my body—mainly my chest—seemed so heavy, like someone was sitting on it.
The same sinking abyss surrounded me, twisting and pulling me further into its deep depths. Darkness surrounded me, pain arcing through my body that I thought would end after death. Somewhere in all of this, a high spun my head that only confused me with all the different sensations.
A cry bubbled up from my tightening chest into my throat, but no sound escaped as I sunk deeper and deeper. Whispers surrounded me, filling me with their familiarity. It should’ve brought some sort of comfort, but it didn’t. Panic rose in me, squeezing my painful chest. In my head, I saw myself clawing to swim to the top of this endless ocean.
“I didn’t mean to—”one voice whispered with a tremble in her young, childlike voice.
“He was mean—”another whispered, but this time it came from a man, anger coloring his words.
A sweet fragrance, mingling with another scent I couldn’t place, helped bring me out of my panic. It distracted me from the suddenness of the growing whispers that became loud enough like they were with me, having a conversation as I drowned in this endless sea I couldn’t escape.
“Open your eyes,” Death whispered in and outside my head.
The sound of his deep, smooth voice gave me the sensation of him wrapped around me, filling me with warmth and comfort. It gave me some semblance of security, keeping things at bay that were scaring me. Just like what Rune did for me...
Rune.
My eyebrows pulled together as I forced my eyes open, the action was sluggish and hard.
Why was I dreaming about the Angel of Death?
I blinked away the black that tinged the edge of my vision. It started as a tunnel that grew wider until it became normal. I found myself standing in Aaliyah’s living room, empty of life. The colors were duller, and small wisps of fog curled on the ground. Some tendrils rose in a slow dance to the window behind the black couch I sat on so many times over the years.
The scene reminded me of scary movies I’d seen over the years. There was one at the top of my head that I couldn’t remember the name or general plot. Only bits of scenes from it passed through my head along with the heart racing spooks it gave me.
After a second of trying to remember, I gave up and glanced over at the couch that held so many great memories from when I visited my friend. There were nights I slept on it when I crashed after a girl’s night that went well past midnight.
Images flashed through my mind’s eye, none of which I could grasp onto and see. They all blurred together, but I knew they had nothing to do with the nostalgia of my friend. My mind wouldn’t let me see, and I had a gut feeling they were important.
They were further back in my past. That much I knew.
Although,onewonderful feeling filled me as I watched the quick bursts surge in my head. The same feelings of friendship and bonding.
The familiarity I had with Aaliyah.
A soft feminine groan echoed in the direction of the master bedroom.
Turning in my spot, I was momentarily distracted by the contrast of light and heavy in my body.
