Ready or Not (The Hide and Seek Trilogy Book 3)
Page 29
Amira had moved to the stone between Will’s and Pluto’s. On it was Liz’s name above the caption: Badass cop; world-saving hero. Not one for shows of emotion, Amira nodded at the stone as though greeting a friend in passing. Her fists were clenched, though, and she had to force closed her eyes.
Mercury had moved to the other side. At the far left of the line was her mother’s stone upon which was the inscription, Crap mother, sorely missed. With a tear in her eye, Mercury touched the stone and spoke softly (“miss you, mum”) before moving to the stone next door. Dom’s stone upon which was written, The love of my life.
When Mercury had engraved the message, Amira had said, “You should put your name in brackets after the “my”. To avoid confusion.”
“I think it’ll be alright,” had said Mercury, and she maintained that it was.
She crouched before her boyfriend’s stone and rubbed the tears from her eyes. She told Dom how much she loved him, how a year’s passing had not diminished that love. How she missed him and wished he was still around, so they could get married, start a family, do all that normal life stuff. She was not naive. She knew she would date again, love again. She might one day get married and have a family. More family, she should say, because her family surrounded her. Edie and Xyla were like daughters to her. Amira, a sister. Sam, a niece. She loved them all. Regardless, one day she hoped to find love, to have biological children. Her opinion had changed in that regard.
“I love you,” she whispered to Dom. She said the same to her mother, though their relationship had always been fractious, difficult. They had reconciled in the end. That was what mattered.
She rose as Amira moved away from Liz. The final stone, the one between Dom and Gina, was Trey’s. Amira and Mercury came together before it. They looked down upon it; upon the name Trey Michaels and the inscription, Hero. Legend. Neither of them said anything. When they visited this clearing alone, it was to Trey they spoke the most. Aside from saving the world, he had become a kind of rock to them, even though he was no longer here. And not only because of the details he had left in his mother’s safe for an offshore account. The one account he hadn’t told his lawyers how to find in the event of his death. It was with this money they had rebuilt Will’s, now Edie’s, home. It was because of this money they had no need to work. At least not yet. But it wasn’t because of this money that they missed Trey, that they thought of him often.
After a minute or so of silence standing before the grave, Mercury took Amira’s hand. Amira held hers out to Edie who rose from her parents’ graves to take it. Edie held her hand to Sam, who did the same. As the chain of handholding commenced above her, Xyla, now at Sam’s feet, looked at first bemused, then frustrated. She knew she was missing out.
Mercury outstretched her free hand. “Come here you.”
Beaming, Xyla stumbled across the clearing and held out a hand for Mercury to take. Once the chain was complete, they looked upon the stones one more time.
“Gone, but not forgotten,” said Mercury. The sentiment was repeated by all except Xyla, who said only “Gud.” They thought it meant good. They believed it to be her first word.
The chain broke, and Mercury swept Xyla into her arms.
“I say we go inside and get breakfast,” she said to the little girl. “Does that sound good?”
“Gud.”
“I thought so.”
She gave the girl a little kiss on the nose. She smiled at her friends—her family, and led the way up the path. Away from the friends and family they would sorely miss and towards breakfast.
Breakfast and, hopefully, a brighter future.
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About the Author
MARK AYRE is a writer of character driven suspense thrillers. He was born in Reading, England, where he now lives with his wife and daughter.
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Copyright © 2020 by Alex Thompson
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