Rot & Romance (Rewriting)

Chapter 33

Lainey stood frozen in place as her mother's cold eyes pierced her. Mom's usually ocean blue eyes were now an icy pale.

"M-Mom . . . ?" Lainey breathed.

Mom narrowed her eyes.

"E . . . Elaine?" Her raspy voice was barely a whisper.

Lainey nodded but stood her ground.

"Yeah. It's me, Mom."

She reached out for Lainey but she instinctively stepped out of reach. Mom placed her hand on her forehead instead.

"Where . . . ? Oh, God. What happened? My head . . . it's killing me."

Mom's face was strained as if she was in severe discomfort. She attempted to sit up only to lay back down.

"How are you feeling?" Lainey asked.

Mom's eyes rolled back into her head and she took a deep breath. And another. And another.

"Mom!"

She slowly opened her eyes again, one of them opening before the other.

"Elaine," she breathed. "I think I may need to go to the hospital. Call emergency."

Emergency? What could emergency do about a supernatural infection?

"Here, Mom," Lainey said, grabbing the glass of water on her night table and handing it to her. "Drink this. It'll make you feel better."

Mom took the glass of water without contention and gulped down the entire glass.

"You're going to take the day off," Lainey continued. "And so am I because I am not leaving your side."

Mom attempted to smile.

"Elaine, you can't keep missing days of school." She began coughing vigorously, spewing drops of blood on the bed sheets. She looked down at the mess she made. "Oh . . . ," she said quietly before going limp and falling back down on the bed.

"Mom!" Lainey shrieked. She rushed to lift her up. Mom was dead weight in Lainey's arms, her head hanging to the side. "Mom, please don't do this to me!" Lainey sobbed as she rocked her back and forth in her arms. "Please wake up! Don't leave me like Dad did."

Mom didn't respond. Didn't move. As far as Lainey was concerned, Mom was dying.

***

"Eggs and toast sound good?" Mama asked when she and Fawn entered the kitchen.

"Cheese eggs and toast sounds better," Fawn said.

Mama nodded in agreement and pulled a loaf of bread, milk, and a pack of cheese out of the fridge.

"Could you get the eggs?" she asked Fawn.

Fawn took four eggs from the fridge and placed them on the kitchen table.

"Can't you just use magic to conjure us an epic meal?" she asked, leaning against the kitchen table with her chin resting on her knuckles. Asking Mama such a question was as surreal as it got.

Mama smiled as shook her head.

"It doesn't work that way, honey. But . . . ," she placed her gaze on the four eggs on the table, "we can use magic to assist us in making breakfast." Mama raised her chin at the egges and one by one, each egg levitated. "How about we make breakfast the way it was meant to be made?"

It was the most amazing thing Fawn had ever seen in her life. Mama owned the kitchen with her magic. She watched in awe as Mama used magic to fetch dishes, crack eggs, pour, stir, scramble, and so much more. Every so often, she would look at Fawn and smile or wink. Making breakfast had never been so much fun.