Chapter 70 70

Chapter 70 70
Chapter Seventy.

Tess POV_

Damien gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before he pulled out his phone, stepping away to make the call. I watched him as he spoke in hushed tones, his expression serious. 

The weight of everything that had happened, and everything that was still to come, pressed down on me, making it hard to breathe.

I turned my attention back to my mom, her still a painful reminder of how fragile life could be. I leaned forward, resting my forehead against her hand, and let out a shaky breath.

“I’m so sorry, Mom,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess. I should’ve been more careful… I should’ve known better.”

The tears started falling again, and I didn’t bother to wipe them away. “I just wanted to be happy, you know? I just wanted to find something good in all the chaos. But I never meant for it to hurt you. I never wanted any of this to happen.”

The words poured out of me, a confession to the one person who had always been there for me, no matter what. “I wish I could take it all back,” I continued, my voice thick with emotion. “I wish I could go back and do things differently. But I can’t. All I can do now is hope… hope that you’ll wake up and that I’ll get a chance to make things right.”

I squeezed her hand, willing her to respond, to give me some sign that she could hear me. But there was nothing…just the steady beep of the machines and the faint sound of Damien’s voice in the background.

“I need you, Mom,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I don’t know how to do this without you. Please… please wake up.”

I stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, just holding her hand and letting the tears fall. Eventually, I felt a presence beside me, and I looked up to see Damien standing there, his expression soft and full of concern.

“How are you holding up?” he asked gently.

I shrugged, not really knowing how to answer that. “I’m… I don’t know. It’s just a lot, you know?”

He nodded, understanding. “I talked to my friend. He’s going to make arrangements, but we’ll need to move your mom as soon as she’s stable enough.”

“Okay,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Damien crouched down beside me, his hand resting on my knee. “We’re going to get through this, Tess. I know it feels impossible right now, but we will.”

I wanted to believe him, but the doubt was still there, a constant shadow that I couldn’t shake. “I’m scared,” I admitted, my voice small.

“I know,” Damien said softly. “But you’re not alone. I’m here with you, and I’m not going anywhere.”

The hours seemed to blend together as I sat there by my mom’s bedside, holding her hand and waiting for her to wake up. 

Damien had stepped out to make arrangements for moving her somewhere safer, and the silence in the room was suffocating. 

The machines kept up their rhythmic beeping, a stark contrast to the turmoil inside me. My mind was a swirling mess of emotions…fear, guilt, sorrow…and I couldn’t seem to escape the thoughts that kept running through my head.

I was so lost in my own world that I almost didn’t hear the door to the room open. It was only when I heard the familiar voices that I snapped back to reality.

“Tess!” Ana’s voice was the first to reach me, filled with concern and urgency. I looked up to see her rushing into the room, her eyes wide with worry. 

Jane was right behind her, her face a mix of anger and distress.“What the hell, Tessa?” Jane snapped as soon as she was close enough. “Why didn’t you call me when you got here and knew mom was like this? Why didn’t you tell me what was going on?”

Her words cut through me like a knife, and I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. I was too drained, too overwhelmed to explain myself. 

Instead, I just looked at her, my eyes brimming with tears once again.

Jane didn’t wait for an explanation. She brushed past me and went straight to our mom’s bedside, her hands trembling as she took in the sight of her lying there, so still and pale. 

The anger in her eyes melted away, replaced by raw grief as she collapsed into the chair beside the bed.“Oh God, Mom,” Jane whispered, her voice breaking. “What happened? How did this happen?”Her fingers gently brushed over our mom’s hand, and then the tears began to fall. 

She leaned forward, her head resting against the edge of the bed as she wept. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she cried, her voice filled with pain. “Why didn’t you call me as soon as possible?”The guilt that had been gnawing at me intensified, and I couldn’t hold back my own tears any longer. 

They spilled over, hot and relentless, as I watched my sister fall apart in front of me. I wanted to tell her that I hadn’t meant to keep this from her, that I hadn’t wanted to hurt her, but the words were stuck in my throat.

Ana, who had been standing back, watching the scene unfold, finally moved toward me. She didn’t say anything at first, just wrapped her arms around me in a comforting embrace. 

Her warmth, her presence, was like a balm to my raw emotions and injury, and I leaned into her, needing the support more than I could express.

“Tess, it’s okay,” Ana whispered, her voice soft and soothing. “We’re here now. You’re not alone.”Her words broke something inside me, and I clung to her as the sobs wracked my body. 

The tears flowed freely, and Ana held me through it, her own eyes shining with unshed tears. I could feel the slight tremble in her hands as she tried to stay strong for me, and that only made my heart ache more.