Aurora’s POV
My legs give out beneath me, and I fall back into the chair outside of my stepfather’s hospital room. A nurse eyes me with annoyance, but I don’t pay her any attention. I can’t. Everything around me blurs. Sounds become muted. Air becomes stale.
I try to breathe, but the air gets caught in my chest, making me gasp and lean back against the wall. I clutch at my chest. This has to be a lie, a cruel joke that my stepfather cooked up to get back at me for saying I won’t give them more money.
It… it can’t be real.
She’s the only mother I’ve ever known. The mother who raised me, who kissed my knee when I scraped it falling off my bike, who worked extra hours to get me the cellphone I wanted for Christmas, who kept me safe when I felt like the world was against me.
She was my
