Tethered (A BirthRight Novel) (17 page)

By lunchtime, we’re just about finished. We have a quick lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup so we can get back to work. Another hour or two and we can clean up for the hospital.

As I help Gram and Aunt Morgan clear the table, the doorbell rings. We know right away who it is, so Aunt Morgan tells the boys to behave this time, and not say anything to make it worse. She’s already made it clear they don’t need to defend her.

Dru and Dhelia had already gone back outside, but the rest of us remain in the kitchen.

The front door creaks open, followed by Aunt Morgan saying, “Michael, we’re just cleaning up from lunch, come on in.”

Michael asks with a polite smile, “I’d like to talk to the whole family, if that’s okay?”

“Sure.” She agrees, but the hesitation in her voice is undeniable.

His attitude doesn’t seem angry like it did last night. He’s calm. Almost apologetic with his hunched over posture and chin dipping into his chest.

Once he’s in the kitchen, he looks at everyone and says, “First, I need to tell you all how very sorry I am for my outburst last night. It was a bit overwhelming to find out I have two grown sons after all these years.”

As he hangs his head again, Gram interjects. “Michael, no one faults you for being upset. You don’t need to apologize. Any one of us would have acted the same way. If not worse.”

Aunt Morgan even adds, “You have every right to be upset. You just have to know it was never done to
hurt
you, Michael. It was done to protect the boys.”

With a pained face, Michael turns to face his sons. He scans them up and down then walks to stand before them. “We weren’t properly introduced last night. I’m your father.” His creased brow softens. “You have no idea how wonderful it is to meet you. No words can describe how happy I am to know you’re alive.” His voice cracks with emotion. “So what are your names?”

Before they can say anything, Aunt Morgan steps over to where they stand. “This is Ash...and this is Aidan.” They nod at the same time towards this stranger; this man who calls himself their father.

Michael spins around, pacing across the floor like a mad-man.

He runs his hands through his somewhat thinning, salt and pepper hair. “I found out a few
details
last night I never knew. Things I still can’t believe.” He pauses. “I spent the entire night, and morning, trying to figure out how to come here to tell you, but I never came up with an easy way.” He shoves his hands into his back pockets, shaking his head.

Aunt Morgan’s face scrunches up in a way I don’t quite understand. Confusion perhaps? Maybe doubt. She steps forward about six inches from Michael, and the boys move to the other side of the table to face them.

“What is it, Michael?” Her voice turns sympathetic. Tender even.

He lifts his head, pain woven through a furrowed brow and damp forehead. “I don’t know how to tell you. It just doesn’t seem real.” He starts pacing again, but stops to brace his hands on the corner of the quartz counter top. “Morgan, we were played and lied to in the worst way imaginable. According to my mother, my father decided to take it upon himself to destroy our relationship...
and
our lives.”

He glances back at Aunt Morgan.

“What do you mean?” I swear I hear her heart breaking from across the room.

He turns around to lean his lower back against the island. “The letter you kept mentioning...well, it was my father who wrote it. Not me. I never knew anything about it before last night.” His eyes well up, struggling to contain himself.

Aunt Morgan’s jaw drops to the floor. “What? Are you
kidding
me?”

“No, unfortunately, I’m not. In fact, he also wrote a letter to me...signed by
you
. Supposedly, they pretty much said the same things. I hate you...I never want to see you again...if you come anywhere near me or my family...blah, blah, blah. For me, saying you no longer loved me was all I needed. Then a few days later, your mom told me you lost the boys. Now knowing about the letter
you’d
received, I can’t say I blame you for what you did. I just can’t believe my father is capable of such cruelty. I mean, what kind of father would do such a thing to his child?” As he says the words, the tears pour down his blotchy face.

Aunt Morgan doesn’t utter a word. She must be just as stunned as Michael is. Hell, as we
all
are.

“How am I supposed to believe this, after twenty-one years of trying to mend a broken heart? After twenty-one years of raising
our
boys,
alone
? Even if what you’re saying is true, why would you not reach out to me to say you were sorry when you heard I had a miscarriage? It just doesn’t make sense.” Her eyes glaze over.

Michael places his hands on her forearms. “Morgan, I thought you hated me. I thought you meant what your letter said. You left town. And then, well, so did I.”

She shakes her head. “I just don’t know what to do with this information right now. I don’t know what to believe, or what
not
to believe. I need to think, Michael. I’m sorry, but I need to think.”

He drops his hands, tears still flooding his face. He looks to the boys. “If I would have had any idea you were alive, I would have been there in a heartbeat. I would have
never
abandoned
any
of you. Please know that.”

Ash and Aidan remain silent, but their tearful eyes speak volumes about what they’re feeling.

Michael turns to Aunt Morgan again. “I am so sorry for what my father has taken away from us. I’ll never forgive him. I just hope in time you’ll be able to forgive
me,
and allow me to be a part of my son’s lives.” He reaches into his pocket, pulls out a card, and places it on the counter behind her. “When you’re ready to talk, please call me.”

She lifts her head, but the second she sees the tears falling down his cheeks, she’s unable to control her own.

Michael sees her tears and turns, barreling out the back door as fast as he can.

Ash and Aidan bolt to their mother’s side to embrace her. They huddle together and cry as the family of three they’ve been for twenty-one years.

Now
the vision makes perfect sense. I get it.

The sight is heartbreaking. Gram and I hold onto each other and cry, too.

This news is not what any of us were expecting to hear. It’s going to change everything, but there’s no way to know exactly how. Not yet.

The unnecessary pain she’s been through is because of a lie—and nothing more. What kind of a person—who claims to be a man of faith—can do something so blasphemous?

The only man Aunt Morgan has loved her entire life,
clearly
never stopped loving her. And he never left her the way she was lead to believe.

Her life of heartache was for
nothing
.

We make it to the hospital a little later than planned. Aunt Morgan had a difficult time getting herself together after Michael’s visit, and who could blame her. She’s a tear-stained mess even now, and hasn’t spoken a word in over an hour.

The minute we walk into Pap’s room, a nurse informs us the doctor has been looking for Gram. They just ran more tests and he needs to go over the results. As she turns to walk out of the room, Gram flops down on the chair beside Pap’s bed to hold his hand.

Dru breathes out a heavy sigh.

I move to where my brother stands against the wall. “What’s wrong, Dru? What aren’t you telling us?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. I can’t feel
anything
. I don’t know how to explain it. But it’s really freaking me out.” He shivers, arms crossing over his chest.

“Well, maybe you’re just having an off day. Perhaps your radar is just on the fritz.” I wrap my arm around him, leaning my head into his shoulder.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” He rests his chin on top of my head. “Let’s go pop-a-squat on the couch while we wait.”

“Sounds good.”

As we move to the couch along the far wall, a pleasant surprise comes traipsing through the door. “Hello, everyone.” Hunter sends a cheerful wave to the room, but no one shares his mood. A simple “Hello” is all he gets.

I feel my face light up as he comes to my side and leans down, placing a feather-soft kiss upon my welcoming lips. “What a nice surprise. I wasn’t expecting to see you until later.”

“Yeah, well I haven’t seen my buddy for a few days, so I figured it was the perfect time since I knew you’d be here, too. Who can say ‘no’ to a two-for-one deal?” He winks.

He’s so adorable. I’d love to wrap my arms around him this very second, but this isn’t the time or place.

I stand back up and grab his hand, pulling him out of the room for a little privacy. “Well, I’m
really
glad you’re here. I could use a pick-me-up. So much has happened since I saw you last night.”

“Is everything okay?” His brows crinkle.

I shake my head. “Not really. It’s a long story. I’ll have to explain it later. Right now we’re waiting for Dr. Gaslightwala to tell us the latest test results.”

“Oh, I see. So it’s not good then?” He wraps his arms around me. Like a new reflex, his touch makes me feel safe. Comforted.

“We don’t know yet, but Gram and Dru have a bad feeling about it.” Hunter and I turn to look at their glum faces through the window.

“Would you like me to stay with you until you find out? I can visit Trevor a little later.”

“Really?” I squeeze my arms around him. “I’d like that.”

“Anything for you, Miss Chloe.” He rubs my back, holding me with so much tenderness.

“You know, a girl could get used to this. I feel so safe with you.” I place my head over his heart. The slow, rhythmic thud soothes me.

“That’s because I protect people for a living.” He squeezes me, chuckling like a little boy. How cute.

“No. It’s because of
you
.”

He pushes me back at arm’s length, staring me in the eyes. “Thank you. That means a lot.” He brushes the side of my face with the back of his fingertips. “Let’s go back in. Your family needs you right now.”

When we turn around, we realize they’re all watching us. My face heats up as we walk back in the room. Why do they insist on doing that? Gees.

Ash and Aidan smirk as they stare. I guess momentary distraction isn’t so bad. But why does it always have to be at
my
expense? I know, I know. Penance!

With Hunter’s face as red as mine feels, we take a seat at the oak table while we wait.

Just as we sit, Dr. Gaslightwala walks in. “Good evening, everyone.” He smiles, but his non-responsive eyes make it seem forced. Oh, no. This can’t be good.

We say “good evening” in return.

“I’m afraid I don’t have good news. Something happened today with Samuel.” His hand with the clipboard falls to his side. “We can’t be sure if it’s from the pressure on his brain, from the tumor growing, or from a lesion, but he’s taken a turn for the worst. There’s really no other way to say this, other than Samuel is brain dead. The tests we did thirty minutes ago show no brain activity of any kind. I’m so sorry, but there’s nothing more we can do for him. This was completely unexpected.” His glassy eyes look down.

What?

This
can’t
be happening. Oh, my god, no!

My heart races out of control. “I don’t understand. He was doing so well.”

“We knew the risks before we performed the surgery. His tumor was in a delicate area of the brain. It’s still a surprise to me, too, but there was no way to predict what would happen or how he’d react.” He looks around the room at our shocked faces, not knowing what to say. He walks over to Gram and pulls a chair up to sit beside her.

Dr. Gaslightwala places his hand on her knee. “We need to discuss what you’d like to do, Aurora. Samuel discussed his wishes with me many times. But once we turn off the machines, you need to realize he’ll be gone.”

She looks up, a numb expression crossing her face. “Can we take him home? If it’s truly his time, I know he’d prefer it if his last moments are in our home with just the family.”

“Absolutely, Aurora. We can take care of whatever you need. Just let us know when you’d like us to make the arrangements.”

She turns her head, looking around the room at the solemn faces soon to be devastated, then turns back to Dr. Gaslightwala. “Tomorrow. Let’s bring him home tomorrow.”

“Consider it done. If there’s anything you or your family need, please don’t hesitate to ask.” He manages a polite smile, reaching for her hand. “He was a wonderful man, Aurora. I’m so sorry there wasn’t more we could do.”

“Thank you, doctor.” She lets go of his hand and reaches across the bed to hold onto Pap’s.

Hunter moves his chair closer, wrapping his strong arm around me. I lean into him in return but don’t say anything. No one does. How much more can this family handle in one day? It’s one thing to find out about the Russo’s—but this is something altogether different.

Gram turns to face us. “This isn’t over. I’m
not
giving up.” Then she walks out of the room with her head held high.

We look around the room at each other, nervous expressions etched across everyone’s suspecting faces. Like everyone else, I’m sure we
know
what she has in mind: she’s planning some sort of
major
spell.

Has she figured out a way to bring someone back from the dead? Oh my god, I hope not. That’s not something to screw around with. I stiffen at the thought of it. Pap would
never
want her going to such extremes, but once she makes her mind up, no one can change it. We’re
all
stubborn like that.

Aunt Morgan gets up to follow Gram, but the rest of us stay seated. I don’t have the first clue of what I should do. Everyone knows how I handle this sort of thing. But no matter what, I
have
to be strong. If I flake again on my family, they’ll never forgive me. Nor should they.

Hunter whispers in my ear, “Is there anything I can do?”

The only answer I can give him is, “Thanks Hunter, I guess the only thing left to do at this point, is pray.”

“Would you like me to leave you alone with your family?”

God, no! But I
should
talk to them about Gram. “Not really. But maybe now would be a good time for you to visit Trevor.”

“Okay. I can do that. If you need me, though...for
anything
...just text me. Or come down the hall to find me, okay?” He has that vacant look in his eyes men get when they feel helpless.

“I will. I promise.” I kiss him goodbye.

As he stands to leave, I grab his hand. “Thank you for being here, Hunter. It means more than you know.”

He smiles, the affection resting there, warms my heart to its core.

Once Hunter’s out of sight, I speak up about my suspicions. “Gram’s up to something.” I turn to Dru and Dhelia. “Has she come up with some sort of ‘raising the dead’ spell?”

They look back and forth between each other, shaking their heads.

“Not that I know of, but then again, she doesn’t usually share her spells with us.” Dru’s drawn expression proves he’s just as concerned as I am.

“You don’t really think she’d do something crazy like that, do you?” Dhelia looks to Dru for reassurance. He shrugs.

But what if Gram
can
? I mean, technically Pap isn’t “dead”, so maybe there
is
something she can do. Magic is capable of powerful things.

As sudden pangs of hope go coursing through my veins, I realize how free we are with our discussion in front of Ash and Aidan.

I turn to see their wide-eyed faces locked on us. “Oh crap. We must have you guys freaked out right now.” I wait for a sign that they’re confused—or afraid.

“Actually,” Aidan tilts his head to the side, “we know a
lot
more than anyone realizes. We have for quite some time now.” He gives a sly smirk as he delivers this juicy little tidbit.

“Oh, really?” I ask. “How is that even possible? I know your mom never talked about it when
I
was around.” I can’t wait to hear
this
answer.

Ash hunkers down in his chair like he’s about to drop a bombshell. “Well, when we were younger, she used to tell us stories about the family’s magic. But she made it clear no one would be using it under her roof. She told us we were free to choose for ourselves when we were adults...so that’s what we did. We just haven’t shared it with her yet. We didn’t want to upset either one of you. We knew you were just as against magic as she was.”

“Wow. I never would have guessed. How long has this been going on?”

“Oh, I guess since we went away to school. Once we were on our own and figured out how to unbind our powers, we did a lot of experimenting.” Ash crosses his arms over his chest and grins.

Why does this surprise me so much? I lift my foot up under my butt, releasing a heavy sigh.

“So you
like
magic then?” Dhelia asks.

“Hell yeah. What’s not to like? It’s so cool to have powers. But don’t worry. We did our homework…and we know the rules. We’d never put the family at risk, and we’re careful not to let our secret get out.” I can tell from Aidan’s serious tone he’s telling the truth.

They’re both mature for their age, so I’m sure they’re wise about their choices.

As I’m about to ask more questions, Gram and Aunt Morgan walk back in the room.

“Are you kids ready?” Gram asks in a hurried voice. “There’s a lot of work ahead of us to get the house ready for tomorrow. We should get started right away.”

Aunt Morgan stands beside Gram without saying a word. With her dark rings and slouching posture, she looks like she’s ready to collapse. My heart goes out to her.

We get up and grab our things. I send Hunter a quick text to let him know we’re leaving as we follow Gram to the elevator. I don’t think I’ve ever felt a more unsettling silence in my entire life.

*  *  *

Last night was one of the most awkward nights I can remember. There wasn’t much talking at all. Gram stayed locked in her sunroom, while the rest of us scrambled around getting things ready to bring Pap home.

Gram sent Dru and Dhelia out for the herbs and supplies she needs, but they were very hush-hush about it. I
know
Gram’s up to something huge, and it makes my stomach queasy just thinking about it.

They called from the hospital earlier to say they’d be here around lunchtime with Pap, so all we can do now is wait. I still haven’t wrapped my head around the fact that he’s coming home to die. I still can’t believe this is happening. I don’t think anyone can. To say it’s gonna hit like a ton of bricks the second they pull the plug, is an understatement.

Part of me will die with him.

Part of us
all
will.

As we sit in the living room waiting, Gram walks in. “I know you’ve all been trying to figure out what I’ve been doing, so I figured it was time to fill you in.” She takes a deep breath, slumping down on the arm of the couch. “I
don’t
believe what the doctor said. I
don’t
believe your pap is gone. If he were, I would
feel
it...and I
don’t
. When you share your life with someone for more than forty years, you become a part of each other. And I still feel his presence as if he were standing right here.” Gram points to the ground beside her.

She pauses, tears building in her eyes. “Does anyone in this room believe he’s gone?
Honestly
. Don’t be afraid to answer.” Gram scans our faces, looking for a sign she hadn’t noticed before.