Page 58 of Seven Letters

Riley was hunched over her books in her bedroom. The curtains were closed and the room was dark, except for the lamp on her desk. Clothes and books were strewn all over the floor, but for once Mia didn’t care.

She knocked gently on the open door. ‘Hey.’

Riley looked up. ‘Hi. How’s Sarah?’

Mia hesitated. She’d been going to lie, but now she thought Riley deserved the truth and she was mature for her age.

‘She’s gone, love.’

Riley’s jaw dropped. ‘What? But I thought … I … She can’t be, Mum. Sarah can’t be dead. She’s … she’s … I just …’ Riley’s eyes were wide with shock and grief. ‘Mum, please, there must be something they can do?’

Mia bit back tears. ‘They can’t, love. I’m so sorry. Her brain has stopped functioning. There’s too much damage.’

Tears streamed down Riley’s face. Mia reached over to her and pulled her into a hug. Riley sobbed into her shoulder. Mia cried silently, holding her daughter, taking a little comfort from their embrace.

Riley pulled back and wiped her face with her sleeve. ‘God, Mum, it’s just so cruel, to lose Sarah and the little baby too. Poor Adam.’

‘The baby is still alive.’

Riley frowned. ‘What?’

‘Sarah’s brain dead, but her body is being kept alive by machines. The baby is still alive. We just have to wait and see if it survives. But the chances are very slim.’

Riley stared at her, open-mouthed. ‘Oh, my actual God. That’s beyond weird. You’re keeping a dead person alive?’

Mia got up and closed the bedroom door. ‘Sssh. Keepyour voice down, love. Izzy doesn’t know. She thinks Sarah’s still asleep. I told you because I don’t want to lie to you. It’s an impossible situation. I’m devastated. We all are. Poor Adam is beside himself, but we’re trying to do what’s best for everyone.’

‘But … how can a dead mother keep a baby alive? A baby needs food and stuff from its mother, doesn’t it? I don’t understand.’

‘It’s very hard to understand, I know,’ Mia said. ‘Sarah’s being fed by a tube, and those nutrients are still being passed to the baby by the umbilical cord.’

Riley bit her thumbnail. ‘But it just seems … like, wrong.’

‘Well, there’s a very small chance the baby could make it, so we have to try. I think Sarah would want us to.’

Riley crossed her arms. ‘Are you sure? It’s like some creepy sci-fi film. I think Sarah should just be allowed to be dead and not have her body forced to stay alive.’

Mia didn’t want to be questioned about the decisions they were making. She was struggling with it all herself. ‘Look, Riley, Sarah was my sister and my best friend and she desperately wanted another baby. She would have done anything to save that baby’s life. That’s what mothers do. They love their children more than themselves and would do anything to keep them alive.’

Riley was not for turning. ‘I think it’s wrong, Mum.’

Mia sighed. ‘It’s complicated, Riley.’

Riley sat down again at her desk. ‘It’s not complicated, it’s wrong.’

Their moment of closeness was over. Mia quietly left the room.

22

The doorbell rang.

‘I’ll get it,’ Izzy yelled, and raced down the hallway.

Mia smiled at Johnny. ‘I didn’t tell her about the special guest. I thought she’d enjoy the surprise.’

From the hallway they heard the click of the front door opening, then silence, then a high-pitched screech: ‘UncleRob!’

Johnny grinned. ‘Yep, I think we can say she enjoyed that.’

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