51. Chapter 51
Cameron
Lucian warned us that when Mason took her dad off life support, he died within ten minutes. But here we were, nearly half an hour later, standing in a room filled with dried flowers and letters from fans we’d hung on the walls but refused to open. And Mason’s heart was still beating.
They’d removed the IV from her arm and taken all the tubes off her face.
The only thing left was a heart rate monitor clipped to her finger.
Lucian and Sophia sat on either side of her, holding one of her hands.
I wanted to be right there, too, but it didn’t feel like my place.
So I stood at the back of the room, holding Rosie while she tried to bite my face like some sort of cute, toothless zombie.
“Shh, I just fed you before we left the house,” I whispered, pulling her away from me.
Rosemary grunted in response, and I helped her pop her thumb into her mouth instead.
Her tiny fingers found my shirt, bunching and releasing the fabric as she looked around the room with wide, curious eyes.
Part of me wanted to put her on Mason’s chest. This might be the last chance Rosemary had to snuggle her mama, and that thought alone was my undoing.
I cleared my throat and looked at the monitors, blinking away the sadness blurring my vision. Sophia, Lucian, and I had all agreed that we wouldn’t cry— not here . That’s all we’d been doing for the last month, and it wasn’t how we wanted to spend our last moments with Mason.
Lucian leaned in, kissing Mason’s forehead before whispering something to her in Spanish. I wondered if he was begging her to hold on or if he was telling her it was okay to let go.
From what I knew of Mason, her entire life had been fighting. Fighting for love, fighting for acceptance, fighting to be herself. And while I hated that this was the fight she picked to lose, she deserved the peace of just giving in.
Sophia’s hand trembled as she ran it gently through Mason’s hair. I could tell by the way she cleared her throat that she was barely holding it together.
Thanks to Dale and the Sons of Christ, death was second nature to me. It was the one thing in life that was completely inevitable. But it had been a long time since a death affected me the way this one did.
For years, Dale had convinced me the other women were evil and that God had smote them because they’d strayed too far from the light.
I’d never gotten to know them beyond the "breeding" Dale demanded, but Mason was different. She’d shown me the sun when I didn’t even realize I’d been living in darkness.
She’d given me love and compassion, even knowing who I was and where I came from.
And just as flowers had bloomed in the desolate garden of my heart, just as she gave me a life I hadn’t even realized I still craved, she was losing hers.
Cool air swept into the room, pulling me from my thoughts.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Sebastian tottering in.
His crutches clinked against the white tiles, and our eyes met briefly in a silent exchange.
His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. Resting his crutches by the door, he all but hopped across the room toward me.
He leaned into me for support, his weight settling against my side as he reached out to stroke Rosie’s coppery hair. Bending down, he kissed her forehead softly .
Part of me wanted to demand where the hell he’d been—he could have missed Mason’s passing. But I knew there would be time to lecture him later. For now, I let myself take comfort in his presence.
“Can I hold the baby?” he whispered.
I glanced at the cast on his leg. “There aren’t any more chairs.”
“I know,” he said. “I was hoping I could hold Rosemary… So you could hold me ?”
A lump formed in my throat. I carefully transferred Rosie into his arms before pulling him close and resting my chin on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner,” he murmured, offering Rosie a finger to hold. “I just—I needed a minute.”
It was a valid excuse, but that didn’t mean I was ready to forgive him.
Rosie squinted up at her Dada, accepting his finger before promptly pulling it into her mouth. Sebastian’s nose wrinkled in disgust as her little face scrunched in irritation. Her breathing quickened, and I tensed, recognizing the warning signs of what was about to happen.
Sure enough, a piercing wail shattered the tension in the room.
Sebastian bounced her gently, trying to shush her. My eyes darted back to the bed, terrified we were disrupting Mason’s final moments. But what I saw next froze the world around me.
Mason’s eyelids fluttered.
At first, I thought it was a trick of the light. But as Rosemary’s cries persisted, her eyelids moved again, this time stronger . Her fingers twitched in Lucian’s hand.
“Mason?” Lucian’s voice was incredulous.
The movement stopped, and just as I began to wonder if it was her last hurrah, Mason let out the smallest, faintest groan.
Sophia gasped, her tears breaking free despite her best efforts.
“Give me the baby,” Lucian said suddenly, urgency sharpening his voice. “Give me Rosie. She wants the baby.”
For someone who couldn’t read minds, he sounded so certain.
Sebastian and I exchanged a disbelieving glance before I quickly transferred Rosie into Lucian’s arms. He held her close to Mason’s face, and the baby’s cries softened .
Rosie let out the strange little grunt she always made when she was impatient. Mason’s head shifted toward the sound, slow and heavy, as if dragged by an invisible force.
Sophia stood abruptly, frantically searching for something—though I wasn’t sure what.
“Mason. This is Rosemary,” Lucian said steadily, like his voice alone could anchor her to the world. “She needs her mom. You need to wake up. She’s hungry… again.”
The tension in the room was suffocating as Lucian continued to speak to her, his voice unwavering. It was as if he believed sheer willpower could bring her back.
Sebastian and I held our breath, both of us frozen.
This morning, Mason had been declared brain dead. How was this happening?
After what felt like an eternity, Lucian gently placed Rosie on Mason’s chest.
In true Rosie fashion, she immediately began rooting around.
Sophia stopped whatever she’d been searching for and moved to ensure the baby didn’t slip off. Rosie whimpered when she failed to latch, and the little movements seemed to reignite something in Mason.
Ever so slowly, Mason’s mismatched eyes fluttered open .
First, they pinned on Lucian before rolling weakly toward Rosie.
A chorus of gasps filled the room. My fingers pressed to my lips as Mason’s gaze, weak and unfocused, landed on the baby.
Her hand moved, clumsy and slow, falling to her chest as she fumbled with the neckline of her hospital gown.
Mason Albright was alive.
Sophia quickly stepped in, sliding the blue fabric off Mason’s shoulder and helping to position Rosie. Within seconds, the sound of rhythmic sucking joined the steady beep of Mason’s monitor.
Mason’s head sank back against the pillow, her gaze shifting to Lucian.
Her lips moved, forming an incoherent, slurred mumble before she rasped a single word: “Thirsty. ”
Lucian leaned closer, his composure fracturing. “I—I don’t have water. I just have Diet Coke… Is that okay?”
Should we even be letting her drink without a doctor? Fuck. We needed a doctor.
Mason’s nose wrinkled in the most expressive way I’d seen from her in weeks.
“Ew. Fine,” she croaked, her voice faint but unmistakably clear.
Lucian scrambled to grab a disposable cup from the bedside table, holding the straw to her lips. Mason accepted it, taking slow, careful sips.
The moment she was done, Sophia and Lucian threw themselves at her.
Sophia wrapped her arms around Mason’s neck, sobbing openly. Lucian laughed, nuzzling Mason’s nose between kisses.
I expected Sebastian to join the celebration; instead, he clung to my arm.
“ She… she’ s awake,” he whispered, his voice cracking as he looked up at me as if searching for confirmation that this wasn’t a dream.
Tears welled in my eyes as I looked back at Mason.
“She’s alive,” I said, my voice breaking as I did.
Free of the guilt and grief that had weighed us down for weeks, something between Sebastian and me shifted. I pressed my forehead to his, savoring the warmth of his skin.
His lips brushed against mine, tender and desperate, the kiss spilling over with everything our pride would never let us say. His hand cupped my cheek, anchoring me as the rest of the world faded away.
For the first time since Dale had claimed me, something in my gut told me everything was going to be okay. And I couldn't wait to spend the rest of my years with the family I'd found for myself.