Page 27 of The Bitter Words

It’s been one of the worst twenty-four hours of my life. We pulled into LA not knowing shit about Livianna except that she’s in the hospital after an overdose.

Nobody knows if it was intentional or not because she’s still in and out of consciousness.

I pull out a stool in Bren’s kitchen and sit. “When are your parents supposed to be back?”

He leans his butt against the counter, resting his palms on the edge. “I don’t know. I’d think soon since they’ve been there from the moment this happened.”

“There has to be something someone can tell us.”

“If they’d let us go down there, we could figure it out on our own.”

“Why won’t they let us see her?”

“She’s in the ICU and they’re trying to keep her stimulation to a minimum.”

I rub my face in my palms, then peer over at him. “I don’t know how much longer I can wait. It’s killing me not knowing what’s going on.”

“You and me both.” He pushes off the counter and peeks inside the fridge.

How the fuck is he thinking about food right now? I can’t imagine eating. The second I thought Livianna was gone for good, I threw up and haven’t been able to put anything but water in my stomach since.

He pulls out a soda and faces me. “Want one?”

“No, thanks. I’m good.”

“I haven’t thanked you for waking me up.” He snaps the tab of his can, opening it. “If you hadn’t, I’m not sure she’d be with us today.”

“Don’t say that.” A wave of nausea rolls through me.

“How did you know?”

“I had a dream. It freaked me out. I got up to use the bathroom, thinking it would fade away. Instead, this overwhelming fear took hold. It was like I could see…”

“What?”

I glance away. “You’ll think I’m full of shit if I tell you.”

“I already know you are, so go on and say what you were going to say.”

I toss him a fuck off kind of glare but continue. “She was staring at me. Like… I could see her in front of me as I was washing my hands. It wasn’t really her, but it was. She looked smoky, almost transparent.”

“So you’re saying you saw Livianna’s ghost?”

I study him to see if he’s mocking me or taking meseriously. He doesn’t move and isn’t giving off any judgmental vibes, so I nod.

“In my dream, my pops told me not to let her go.” I shake my head to erase the image. “It was a nightmare. I knew something was wrong the second I woke up, but I tried to ignore it. When I saw her, I had the same feeling I had when my pops died.”

Bren keeps his gaze on me as he takes a drink of his soda. I can only imagine what he’s thinking.

He places the can down on the island. “Your dad was watching out for her. That’s pretty fucking comforting if you ask me.”

“You think, or is that just something you’re telling me to make me feel better?”

“I really believe it, Cash. Stranger things have been known to happen.” Bren reaches over and taps me on the temple. “Your dream saved her life.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I’ve slept in the same room as you quite a bit and you sleep like a rock. Nothing wakes you up. And I’ve never known you to have a nightmare. At least not one that scared you so much you got out of bed. That tells me something intervened.”