Chapter 41 Chapter 41
Liana's POV
The shriek sliced through the house like a blade. Not Cam's usual shriek of laughter or argument—but a raw, terror-filled cry that made my blood freeze. I took off before I even knew I was moving, heart racing, feet barely hitting the floor. Stanley's boots pounded after me.
"Cam!" I screamed, terror constricting my throat.
She was in my mother's room, shaking next to her grandmother who was on the floor—dead.
Grandma!" Cam cried, her little hands trembling as she stretched to grab my mother. "Wake up!"
I fell to my knees, grabbing for my mother. Her skin was cold and sweaty, her breathing ragged and shallow.
"Mom. Mom!" I struck her cheek, checked for a pulse. Still going, thank God. But slow. Weak. I glared up at Stanley. "Call an ambulance."
He was already on the phone.
I believe she fainted," I exclaimed, voice trembling, "or perhaps… her blood pressure. I don't know," I murmured.
Cam just kept sobbing, hiding her face in my ribcage. I pulled an arm around her and held on, even as my other hand remained clamped to my mother's wrist.
"I need you to breathe, baby," I panted to Cam, but I wasn't sure if I was telling her. or me.
Stanley knelt beside us, embracing Cam gently into his arms. "It's okay," he whispered. "The ambulance is on the way. She'll be okay."
I nodded, but was unraveling within. My mother was the only fixed point that I had left. The one person who never left, never judged, never informed me that I was too much. She held me together after Dominic, after everything. If I lost her—
No. I couldn't do that.
\---
At the Hospital
The fluorescent lights over the emergency room hummed overhead as I sat in the cold plastic chair, my hands knotted together in my lap. My mom was in there, getting tested, and we were out here… waiting. Waiting always seemed so bad.
Stanley was beside me, his leg against mine. Cam had fallen asleep with her head resting on his thigh, her hand clamped around his thumb. They looked… a family. Something whole. Something I did not permit myself to want.
"She's stable," the doctor had informed when he came out. "Seems a drop in blood pressure, either from stress or exhaustion. We're going to keep her overnight for observation.".
Just stress. Just fatigue.
But that wasn't "just" to me. That was everything.
"You okay?" Stanley asked softly, breaking through my train of thought.
I nodded too quickly. "Yeah. Just… afraid."
"I know."
We sat in silence, the whir of equipment and muffled sounds the sole background. I looked down at Cam, her mouth slightly ajar in sleep. She trusted him. Her little body relaxed fully in his presence in a way that I hadn't even realized she wasn't doing it with me anymore.
"She doesn't sleep like that unless she feels safe," I whispered.
Stanley gazed down. "Then I'm honored."
I breathed unevenly. "I don't want you to be obligated to us."
He looked from me to his sister, calm and unwavering. "I'm not here out of obligation, Liana. I'm here because I want to be."
Something snapped in me there. Because I believed him. And because it was so terribly scary.
"I don't know how to let someone be there," I admitted. "I've had so long at building walls, I—I think I forgot what not being alone is like."
Stanley didn't push it. He just let it hang there between us, his body tight, quiet, unmoving. Cam shifted a little in sleep, exhaling as she snuggled in closer to him.
I turned away before the pain could spill out of my eyes.
\---
Reflection
When the nurse let me into the room, my mother looked smaller than usual beneath the stark hospital blanket. Machines beeped quietly, tracking rhythms that I’d taken for granted for years.
I sat in the chair beside her bed and held her hand. It felt frail, bones more prominent than they used to be. When had she gotten so thin?
"Always you put me first," I breathed. "Even when you were tired. Even when I didn't deserve it."
Following Dominic… when I stood on her porch with a black eye, a broken rib, and a kid on my hip—I saw fear on her face, but she didn't falter. She merely opened the door and closed it behind me.
She had given me her bed, her food, her energy. And now I had leaned too hard again. I wanted to be strong, for her and for Cam—but I had collapsed in on myself the very instant things had gotten tough. She caught me again. She caught me always.
Something flashed back. A therapy session where I finally broke down and confessed to her how constantly afraid I was.
My therapist had asked me, "Are you keeping Cam safe… or keeping yourself safe from hope?"
I hadn't known it then. I think I do now.
I wasn't so afraid of Cam being hurt. I was afraid of letting myself hope that things might be different. That love wouldn't turn to ash every time.
"Thank you," I whispered to my mother, brushing a strand of hair off her forehead. "I'll do better. I promise.".
A coldness swept into the room, and I shivered.
Stanley came up quietly in the doorway, two cups in his hand. "You looked cold."
"You didn't need to."
"I wanted to."
I paused before taking it. "Thanks."
He nodded short and sat down across from me, the room quiet except for our breathing.
\---
Dominic's POV – St. Louis Hospital Parking Lot
The sound of the prescription bag rustling was thunder in silence. I shoved it into the glove compartment like it burned.
Sleeping pills. Again.
The doctor had looked at me funny. Like he wondered how someone like me would be taking sleep aids. But he didn't. They never do. Money buys silence.
I hadn't wanted to be seen, hadn't wanted whispers. When Liana left, the public attention turned icy. Her story leaked out in time—just enough for others to start wondering. Sponsors dropped away. Rumors spread. I kept my head low.
Midnight was better. No cameras. No attention.
I closed the car door, and something caught my eye.
Tall figure. Familiar gait. Stanley.
Of all the people.
He hesitated when he noticed me. Recognition clouded his features.
"Stanley," I attempted, attempting to keep my voice level.
"Dominic." His tone was abrupt but polite.
"What are you doing here?"
"I might ask you the same," he said, eyeing me purposefully at my pack. "You're hiding out, aren't you? You're supposed to be in hiding, remember?"
My jaw clenched. "Watch yourself."
I took a step forward, face neutral but eyes alert. "Karma catches up eventually. Doesn't it?"
I snorted. "Don't attempt the self-righteous act. You don't know anything."
"I know enough."
I crossed my arms. "You playing like this never happened?"
He shrugged. "Sure. Doesn't matter."