Chapter 138
I close my eyes, trying to conjure the image, but all I can see is Brielle’s broken body on the ground. “No, I… I can’t see anything but Bri.”
“There were yellow paint scrapes on her bike,” Mom says quietly.
My eyes snap open, confusion flooding through me. “Yellow paint? What do you mean?”
Mom takes a deep breath. “But they caught the man who hit her?” I tell her, and my mother nods sadly. “They did.”
“What are you saying?” I ask, confused, wondering where she is going with this.
“That man was your grandfather, Aubrey. He was drunk behind the wheel,” she says softly, but I shake my head violently.
“No. No, that’s not possible.”
“Yes, Aubrey,” Mom nods, her voice breaking. “That’s why I stopped speaking to your grandmother. She gave him her keys, knowing he was drunk.”
The room spins around me. “But Grandpa, he… he…” I can’t finish the sentence.
“He died not long afterward, remember?” she asks me, and my brows pinch together.
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Chapter 139
“Yes, he died from heartbreak?” Mom’s laugh is bitter.
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“No, Aubrey. He killed himself. He couldn’t live with the guilt, knowing I would never forgive him.”
I stare at her, my world crumbling around me. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I wanted to protect you, Aubrey. I wanted you to have a childhood without this awful truth hanging over it.” Her eyes are pools of sorrow, mirroring my own feelings of shock and disbelief.
“But it was a lie, Mom! You lied to me!” I can barely get the words out, the realization that my own grandfather had caused my sister’s death throbbing like a fresh wound in my chest.
“I know…I know, sweetheart,” she whispers, her hand reaching towards me again. But I flinch away from her touch, shaking my head. “I get you’re upset, you lost your sister. But I lost my daughter, my mother and my father all in one day. I know you think I was cruel not helping her, but she defended him, and then blamed me for his death when he ended it.” she tells me. She swallows thickly, glancing at my sister’s pillow. She picks up the stuffed bear.
“I just couldn’t,” Mom says, looking away. “In every story you told, Grandpa was still your hero. I didn’t have the heart to take that away from you when you already lost so much.”
“But Brielle…” The words stick in my throat, tears prickling my eyes, a storm of emotions rising within me. My hands tremble as I remember her smile, her laugh… the life she should have lived.
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“I know,” Mom says softly, taking my hand in hers. “She was a light in our lives.”
A tear slides down my cheek. “How could he… why would he…” But the answer is clear.
“He was a broken man, Aubrey,” Mom offers, but it’s small consolation against the guilt and betrayal coursing through me. “The drink had a hold of him.”
“But he took her away,” I whisper, and she nods, grief etching deep lines into her face.
“Yes,” she whispers back. “And eventually himself.”
The silence stretches out between us then, filled with sorrow and the ghosts of our pasts. Her revelation transforms. cherished memories into bitter reminders and leaves me grappling with a family secret that has finally been brought to light.
My mind keeps circling back to that fateful day when everything changed. Grandpa left to get bread, we went to ride our bikes…and now we’re here, with a truth so painful that it’s almost unbearable.
One thing is clear in the chaos of my feelings: Nothing will ever be the same again. Accepting this truth about Grandpa will be like trying to swallow a bitter pill that can never be spit out again.
My mind reels with conflicting emotions: grief for Brielle, anger at Grandpa for his fatal mistake, and betrayal for Mom‘ s concealed truth.
“I’m sorry, baby.” mom whispers.
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Her hands reach out, clasping mine, her grip warm yet tired. “I know, and I’m sorry for that, dear. I thought I was doing the right thing.” It suddenly all makes sense now why she turned her back on Grandma and why Grandma was reluctant to talk about Brielle.
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