Chapter 99 After Church
Rose
"Can we have chocolate milk for Thanksgiving?" Matthew asks from the backseat of the car.
"Sure, sweetie. You can have as much as you want. There'll be plenty of food, too." My mom used to cook, but since we're expecting a lot of people this year, we'll have to cook. Although I'm sure it will be delicious.
"And there will be lots of other children," Marina says excitedly. "Like Kat. I like Kat."
Kat is Danielle and Christian's daughter. Her full name is Katherine, and she's a charming little girl, very much like her mother.
"I'm sure she likes you, too. Yeah, there will be lots of children. Christmas will probably be the same. I can't wait," I say with a grin.
"Do you want to see Santa too?" Marina asks, her eyes wide. "Of course I want to see Santa. But Christmas is more than just gifts from Santa, my dears. You'll get to spend time with family, there's plenty of food, and snow! I sigh happily. "When I was little, I loved playing in the snow with my brother. It was the only time we were truly close. We made snowmen and snow angels."
"We like snow angels," the twins chorus.
"Yes," I say, feeling nostalgic. "This year, you can make as many snow angels as you want. I can't wait for Christmas." I may not get the wedding of my dreams, but I'm also not going to let Enzo's grumpy ass stop me from enjoying a day I truly love. Especially since he won't tell me why.
"You said gifts don't matter, Aunt Rose," Matthew says carefully. "But we still get gifts, right?"
I laugh.
"You'll get as many gifts as you want," I promise. "And after Christmas, we'll have my wedding. We've got a lot of excitement ahead of us in the next couple of weeks."
The twins fall silent as we pull up to the house. As soon as we walk through the door, they run to their bedroom. I go into the living room, take off my jacket, and plan to settle in and maybe watch TV. I briefly wonder what important thing Enzo had to discuss with Christian. This man and his secrets.
I'd barely been lying on the couch for more than a minute when something went wrong.
"Marina!" I hear Matthew scream.
I run out of the living room and find them in the hallway. Marina has collapsed against the wall, her brown eyes wide, clutching her throat. Matthew is crying in front of her, trying to coax his sister back.
"Oh, my God!" I gasp, running up and crouching in front of her. “Marina! What happened, baby? Talk to me.”
She continues to take short, ragged breaths. Her throat begins to swell, and her face turns red. Something clicks in my head.
Allergies,” I breathe out. She's allergic to peanuts. I search her pockets. “Matthew, did you eat anything at church?”
He nods as my hand clutches the wrapper in her pockets.
“We just ate the candy Daniel gave us. Marina asked me not to tell you. She has There was only one bite. Daniel said his mom bought it for him. I-I didn't know.”
He starts crying again.
"Isabella!" I scream.
She comes running a few seconds later, her eyes wide.
"She's having a seizure," I say, my heart pounding in my chest.
Isabella, without wasting a second, heads for the twins' bedroom. She quickly reappears, holding a small metal box. I step back as she takes it out. Her steps are practiced and precise. She's done this before.
Isabella carefully kneels in front of the little girl. She raises the syringe into the air and quickly injects it into Maria's thigh.
We wait a minute or two until Marina manages to take a full breath. When she does, I fall on my butt and take a sharp, ragged breath.
"Oh, my God. Thank you, thank you," I cry.
"We need to call 911," Isa mutters.
I cradle Marina in my arms, and Isa gets up to get the phone.
"You're okay, honey. Everything's okay," I say quietly, kissing her forehead.
All of this probably happened in less than five minutes, but it feels like an eternity. I'm still running my hand through her dark hair when I hear the sound of a gun being loaded. I turn around, and my eyes widen when I see Denise standing there.
Dark brown eyes, full of fear and hatred, are fixed on me.
"Get away from my daughter," she orders, pointing the gun at me.
Panic catches in my throat.
"No, Denise. She's fine. She ate some peanuts and had an allergic reaction. But Izzy already used her EpiPen. She'll be fine," I quickly assure her.
The look in her eyes doesn't leave me. It's almost abnormal.
"I said, get up!" she screams.
"Mom," Matthew screams, approaching her. But right now, I don't trust Denise's gaze. I rise to my feet very carefully.
"Stay behind me, Matt. Stay with your sister."
I hear Isabella's footsteps as she reappears. She silently surveys the scene before speaking.
"Denise," she drawls. "You're back." Her voice is measured, controlled.
"She tried to hurt Marie," Denise accuses.
"Marie had an accident, Denise. Put the gun away. You're scaring the children," Isabella declares.
Instead of letting go, Denise's hands tighten around the butt of the firearm.
"I told you, Isa." I told you he would ruin us. He brought that bitch into our family, and now she's trying to kill my daughter.
I try not to make any sudden movements. "I would never hurt Marie, Denise. I swear."
"Mom," Matthew tries again, his voice low and fearful. "Aunt Rose didn't do anything."
"Shut up, Matty," his mother says, not looking at him. Her eyes never leave my face, still aiming the gun at my chest.
I swallow quietly.
"We need to get Marie to the hospital," I say, hoping she'll show some common sense. We're talking about her daughter.
Isabella is trying to talk her out of it when Enzo arrives. His expression is more furious than ever as he walks toward us. His eyes meet mine, and I see many emotions flicker across his face. Anger is the most noticeable, but I also see fear. Fear for me.
"What the hell is going on here?" he asks.
Jason stands behind him, clenching his jaw, taking it all in.
Denise turns, adjusting her aim. For the first time, I see her expression flicker. Nerves, fear. At least it means she hasn't completely lost him.
"Stay back!" Denise screams.
Enzo's lips curl in disgust.