SMELLING ROSES

Chapter Nineteen

I nearly ripped the hinges off the doors as we bustled inside the hospital. The cool air hit my already drenched skin like sparks of lightning. It was raining and summer thunderstorms were rarely forgiving.

I forgot my sandals long ago but still managed to slip on my bare feet. I could hear Wren's squeaking footsteps behind me. I called the first available elevator down. My heart was in my throat. My body rattled like it was the dead of winter. I couldn't even think straight. It was like someone flipped my brain upside down.

I couldn't believe it.

She was awake. She was alive.

The impossible happened.

To us.

To me.

I needed to see her for myself. I needed to see what impossible looked like. Shae could've been mistaken. The doctors didn't believe this was possible and for good reason. There could be complications. She could get sick or her heart could fail. She could be gone already.

I jammed my finger into the button and waited for our floor. Why did everything move so slow when you needed to be somewhere? What if I missed her?

As the elevator came to a stop, Wren grabbed my hand. He hadn't said a word since we hopped into his car hours ago.

"This is real, Nora." He pressed his warm hand into my cheek. "Your family wouldn't lie to you. Your dream really did come true."

"But...you—you don't understand. I wanted to pull the plug. I wanted to take her off of life support. If I had— "

"Don't think like that. You were only doing what you thought was right."

My phone buzzed with a call from Shae. When the elevator doors slid open, I tore away from his hold and sprinted down the hall. An elderly woman walked out my mother's hospital room. She looked like she used all her strength to stand up. Her cane wobbled as she took light steps back up the hall. A woman I'd only seen once. My grandmother. She was the only grandparent still alive, but never wanted to be a part of our lives. Including my mother.

Uncle Ronnie pressed his hand into her back, looking up at us. A smile took over his features when he found Wren behind me. It was a shame how little my parents' family cared about us.

"Oh, Nora," my grandmother smiled. Her cold, boney fingers wrapped around my hand. "You still look like your mother."

Never heard that before. I'm surprised she even remembered my name. "You two came together?" I asked as my Uncle Ronnie slithered to Wren's side.

"Met in the hallway. I'm gonna take her home." He dropped his gaze.

"Nora!" Mrs. Davidson's lively scream bounced through the hall.

Behind her stood the residents of Patterson's Alley. Their eyes were filled with tears but they had smiles on their faces. As they sauntered out my mother's room, Uncle Ronnie pushed my grandmother to the elevators. I guess he couldn't deal with all of them at once.

Mrs. Davidson was the first to throw me into a hug. She hugged me so tight I thought I'd bruise. When she let go, they all followed suit.

"How we beat you here?" someone joked, and it broke the tension in my chest.

Just when their hug-fest started to feel like torture, Shae appeared. A smile pulled at their lips, but it couldn't hide their bloodshot eyes. They yanked me into a tight hug and suddenly I was scared.

"Come on." They pulled me to the door.

I wanted to fall to my knees and beg for a few moments. I gripped Wren's hand and together, the three of us entered.