Page 134 of With Us

Our babies.

Even without seeing them, I knew they were our babies because the feeling of love brought tears to my eyes.

His voice lowered in warning. “But stand by as ash, and you will blow away at the first sign of a breeze.”

A small puff of air blew my card away from Theo’s. In turn, his ripped in two. Pain tore through me, straight down the middle. Grief and regret choked me as the blurry faced cards disappeared with apoof. Quick as a blink, the room went dark before returning to its normal lighting.

Mystic Stones was gone.

As were every card but one.

It was just me, alone on the table.

No Theo.

No family.

No babies.

Gulping in air, the pain still tearing me apart, I turned and rushed through the empty lobby. When I reached the parking lot, there were no cars or shoppers. It was deserted.

“Luc!” I yelled, spinning around and around as I looked for his SUV. I started to run, my slow jog turning into a thigh burning sprint as I screamed until my lungs burned, too. “Luc! Please! I want to go! I need to go home!”

All I heard were echoes of my cries.

The sun was shining bright, but shadows followed me as I moved.

“I want to go home! Luc! Home!”

“Dahlia?” I heard, muffled and fuzzy. I looked but couldn’t see through the darkness.

“I need to go home,” I sobbed.

“You are home.”

My heartbeat slammed in my ear, the noise nearly deafening as my body grew weak. The darkness spread, blocking out the sunlight.

“Dahlia, wake up,” I heard, hands on my shoulders shaking me. “Holy fuck, you’re on fire. Dahlia, you’ve got to wake up.”

“Too tired,” I muttered, wincing as I tried to curl up. I gathered the blankets around me, my teeth chattering. The minimal warmth they’d given disappeared when Luc pulled them off me, leaving only my sheet.

“You’ve got a fever,” he explained.

Cowbell.

The only cure is more cowbell.

I waited for him to laugh at my joke, only to realize I hadn’t spoken. My eyes were so heavy I couldn’t open them no matter how hard I tried.

“Ma?”

No, I’m not your ma. I’m no one’s mama. They blew away.

“I’m fine. Sorry for the late call. Dahlia’s burning up. I have no clue what I’m supposed to do.” He paused for a moment. “I usually just chug some Nyquil and sleep for a few days.” He gave a low growl. “Now’s not the time, Ma. Dahlia’s really out of it.”

Poor Dahlia, whoever she is.

“Ben, get up here!” The shout echoed through my head like a pinball, causing an ache each time it bounced around. “Sorry,” Luc whispered, squeezing my shoulder gently.

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