Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Wave waited for Gina to speak. He thought she would say something, but she remained silent for a long time. He could hold out, though, and didn’t feel the need to fill the silence.
Finally, she let out a huff and then spoke. “It’s complicated.”
“I’m sure it is. But all you have to do is give me his name.”
Gina bit her lower lip, then gave her head a quick nod. “Give me your email, and I’ll send you the information.”
“Sure. Let me have your phone, and I’ll put in my information. I’ll see what I can do in the next day or so. You need to be careful.”
Her eyes cut to his, and she looked annoyed. “I am.”
Words swam through his brain, but he didn’t say them. The bruises told a different story, but he didn’t want to rub that in her face. She needed compassion, not blame.
“He’ll probably come after you again.”
“Listen, I’ve been careful. He caught me off guard. It won’t happen again.”
“Maybe you should stay with a friend.”
She shook her head. “I can’t put my friends in danger. Plus, I haven’t been here long enough to have good friends to crash with.”
He shook his head, thinking about her options. “I don’t like this.”
She huffed out a snort. “Yeah, I don’t like it either, but I don’t have many options.”
“Let’s see what we can come up with.”
A crease between her eyebrows made her forehead wrinkle. “What do you think you can come up with?”
“I don’t know. Maybe there is a solution.”
He had no idea what had happened to make those men attack her. Maybe she’d done something that angered them. Still, attacking her wasn’t cool. They could go the legal route if she’d actually done something wrong.
She had his information, and now all she had to do was send him the name of the guy behind the attacks. He hoped she would send it soon.
He headed back into the room with his mother, sitting quietly beside her bed.
His thoughts drifted to work. During their missions, there were things that happened that others would look down upon.
There were people in other nations who probably wanted to use them as punching bags or target practice.
There were times he wished it would all stop.
The John Lennon song, “Imagine,” was a nice sentiment, but it would never happen.
Not that he didn’t want it to, but he dealt in realities that showed the depravity of humanity.
Somehow, the people in charge seemed to lean toward evil.
He guessed good people just wanted to live their lives and not get involved.
He had no solution. He would just keep doing his job and hope that it would help.
Sitting in the hospital, watching his mother slip from this world, was bittersweet.
Emotions rose that he thought he’d worked through.
It had been rough before he left for the Navy.
Money had been very tight. It was one reason he’d set up the bank account for Cassandra and dripped money into it.
He hadn’t wanted his sister to starve or have to quit school and work.
When he’d been in high school, he’d lied about his age to get a job at fourteen just so he would have money for food. His mother just didn’t think buying groceries for him or Cassandra was important.
In a way, he was surprised Cassandra had turned out so well. Maybe it was because he’d helped with money that she hadn’t gone to bed starving or woken up in the mornings, unsure how she would get her next meal.
Cassandra yawned and stretched. “I need to eat.”
He checked his watch. “Sure. I didn’t get to eat lunch. How about we both go get something to eat?”
Cassandra shook her head. “I don’t want her to be alone in the last minutes.”
He didn’t want to upset his sister, so he nodded instead of arguing with her. He could pick something up from a machine or the cafeteria downstairs. “Don’t take the bus home. Take a taxi.”
Her lips pressed together. “It’s so expensive.”
“I know. But it’s dark out.”
He checked the time, seeing it was almost midnight. The day had flown by. He’d pushed away the hunger pangs earlier, but now they were hitting with a vengeance. He guessed he should have gone back for his sandwich instead of following Gina. But Gina needed his help.
“I should call you a shared ride. You don’t need to be standing out there hailing a cab.”
She rolled her eyes, something he’d seen her do multiple times today. She was a teenager. He’d been a little shit at her age when he’d traipsed off to training.
“I’ve been doing this on my own for weeks.”
He nodded, wishing he’d come earlier, but he couldn’t wish time would turn back. “I know. But that doesn’t mean I like it.”
She huffed out a breath. “Just come downstairs with me so you can get the right position in the application.”
He glanced at their mother, thinking she would be okay. Cassandra said goodbye, promising to be back in the morning. His mother gave no reaction that she heard her. Maybe sitting beside the bed was useless, but if it helped Cassandra, he would do whatever he needed to do.
They left the room, walking in silence to the elevator. They were past all the other rooms, closer to the elevator lobby, when Cassandra spoke.
“Do you remember what I called elevators when we were younger?”
He thought for a few seconds, then it came to him. “People eaters.”
“Yeah. People eaters.”
They both laughed at the shared memory. He stopped walking, and she stopped, too. The Navy had taught him a lot. He’d been through hell, but also, in a way, he’d been to heaven, too. It didn’t change the fact that he’d only seen Cassandra a few times in the years he’d been gone.
“There are times I wish I had stayed here and helped out more.”
Cassandra shook her head, then put her hand on his arm.
“No, you did the right thing. Mom was different with you.” She smiled and shook her head.
“I know it’s difficult for you to come back.
But thank you for being there for me. I’ve never really said much about it, but the extra money you sent saved me.
I learned how to cook, and I was able to buy clothes when I went up in size.
I hid the account from Mom. I explained the new clothes by telling her I had a job.
Really, I was in the city library studying most nights.
I’m only doing so well in school because of you. ”
He pulled her into a hug. “I’m glad I could help. And I’m glad you’re coming to California to live with me.”
She laughed and stepped back. “You may not be so happy about that when I’m there all the time.”
“It will be good having you around.”
He heard beeping, and his smile fell as he watched nurses rush down the hall, followed by doctors. Cassandra followed his gaze and took a step in the direction of their mother’s room.
“Wait.”
She shook her head. “Why? What if—”
“If it’s Mom, the doctors are in there doing what they can. We won’t be able to go in.”
“Let’s at least get closer.”
He could see that Cassandra wasn’t going to back down, so he relented. “Sure.”
Wave slowed his pace, not wanting to get too close to where the doctors were working. He knew all too well that watching doctors do their job could be traumatic.
Cassandra grabbed his hand and sped up. “Come on.”
“Slow down.”
She glanced over her shoulder, worry filling her gaze. “But she’s dying.”
She knew this was the end. Cassandra wasn’t a child he had to protect. She had a good head on her shoulders. She was smart and would make it through the storm caused by their mother’s death.
He put his arm around her and walked with her toward their mother’s hospital room. “Cassandra, are you sure you want to see this?”
She nodded, so he kept moving toward their mother’s room. He’d seen death many times. A few of those times, it had been his friends. He was sure Cassandra had never seen anyone die.
When they stepped into the room, he hugged her closer. Their mother had an order on file directing the doctors not to resuscitate her. This was it. The end for their mother.
Wave was sad, but the sadness wasn’t only that she would be gone, but that they’d never been able to resolve their issues.
His mother never acknowledged that she’d done anything wrong.
He wished they could have actually talked about the problems she’d had with him, but she never wanted to speak about it.
Now that option had been taken from his hands.
Cassandra moved to the bed, tears streaming down her face. She kissed their mother’s cheeks then stepped back. The doctor called the time of death.
Wave blew out a breath. It was over. Now he just had to figure out how to take care of Cassandra and work as a SEAL. Moving Cassandra to California would bring challenges, but he was up for it.