Chapter 131 Gone
ELIJAH
Jane was on the bed and I was standing over her watching carefully.
Over the last few weeks she had shrunk significantly, becoming a shadow of herself. She couldn’t keep anything down, she could barely stand or walk on her own, she had blisters all over her body so she ended up confined to the bed.
She was weak, very weak and she could barely talk above a whisper.
I knew her time was near and I didn’t like it at all. Leo wasn’t ready for this. She couldn’t return after so long only to leave again without spending proper time with him.
“I don’t hate you, Jane. I really don’t. I was just mad at you for what you did to him. Liam loved you a whole lot and automatically, it meant that I had to love you too. You were an important part of his life and you always will be. I’ll take care of Leo, you don’t have to worry about him. He’s my son now and he will get everything he deserves so much that he will forget that he didn’t have his real parents. You don’t have to worry about him, Jane. He’s in good hands.”
She nodded her head slowly, giving me a small smile and raising her hand to hold mine weakly.
“Thank you, for everything you’ve done for Leo. You are a good man, Elijah and I’m happy I got to know you. Be happy, get married and have your own family. I’m so sorry Liam and I had to die and leave Leo to you to take care of. I wish we could have been better parents to him in this life.”
I really wish things could have been different in this life for all of us.
“It’s going to be okay. Do you want to speak to him?”
“Yes, I need to speak to him. I’ve been pushing it off for far too long. I’ll be gone at any minute now and I want to make sure that I’ve seen the only good thing that I did in this life.”
I left the room to get Leo. For the past few weeks, he had become a shadow of himself. He barely ate, barely spoke, even when I went to his room to play with him, he didn’t seem like he was in the mood for anything.
I knew it was because of her presence here but I couldn’t do anything about the way my son was feeling.
“Hey buddy.”
He turned around in his bed and looked at me, then lay back down on the bed.
“Leo, your mom would like to see you.”
He got up immediately and sat on the bed, coming down just as fast.
“Hey, I want to tell you that no matter what happens, I’m here for you. You’re not going to lose me, not now. Not any time soon. I’ll be here for you for as long as you need me to, okay?”
He nodded, obviously confused about what was going on.
I led him to see her, scared that her appearance might scare him but he didn’t seem fazed at all.
She smiled when she saw him and she pulled him close to her frail body.
“Leo Liam Corey. My son. My only son. I’m so happy you’re doing well, I’m happy you’re where you are now. I want to apologize for everything that happened, everything that I did.” She was crying now “If I had known better, I would never have left you to fend for yourself, my boy. I’m so sorry for what I did and I wish I could take it back with everything in me.”
She’d been here for a couple of weeks and it was high time they spoke properly.
Jane didn’t seem to have that much time anymore.
“I wish you to be happy, Leo. I hope you get everything you need and find the happiness your father and I couldn’t give to you. You deserve the whole world and I’m happy you ended up in the hands of Elijah. Be faithful to him, my boy. He’ll be a good father to you. You are the best thing to happen to me, Leo and I wish I could stay with you longer but I can’t. So this is goodbye for now, not forever. I will surely see you again and I know we’ll never part then.”
Even I was moved to tears and I quickly cleaned them while they hugged each other.
Jane had already asked me to make preparations for her grave a week ago. She wanted to be buried beside Liam.
She had set everything in place. Leo was to inherit everything she and Liam had and she had written letters for him to last him till his eighteenth birthday.
I saw when her hand dropped, and heard when she took her last breath.
Leo ran to me and cried profusely and the more I consoled him, the more he cried. My heart broke for him, losing both his parents so soon in his young life.
I held him tight as he sobbed into my chest, his small body shaking with grief. I didn’t know what to say to make it better because there was nothing I could say.
His mother was gone and his father had been gone for years. He was an orphan now, even though I had promised to take care of him. I carried him back to his room and sat with him until he cried himself to sleep.
I watched him sleep, I thought about Adriana and how much I missed her. I needed her here with me. I needed her support and her comfort.
Leo needed her too. She had always been so good with him, so patient and loving. I pulled out my phone and stared at her number, wanting so badly to call her but not knowing if she would even answer. We hadn’t spoken in weeks and it was my fault.
I had kept things from her again and she was rightfully angry. But I needed her now more than ever.