Chapter Fifty-Seven

Before I get the call that ruins my life, I feel like my life is finally changing for the better.

"Let's go," Lee says standing with his arm outstretched, empty palm waiting. He has the, previously heavy but now light, wine bottle in the other. He's like a dark knight in his black suit and solemn face. At times, his patience is a spectacle to marvel at. "Can't disappear from my own party this year...again."

I take his hand, pulling myself up. "You're right. Wouldn't want to keep people waiting. any longer." A thought enters my mind. "Oh my god, Daniel." I pick up the bottom of my dress. "I have to go. I completely forgot." Within a second, I am running as fast and as stable as I can half-drunk and in heels. I barely have a chance to see Lee's reaction.

The room feels the same as I had previously left it, but I barely can process the probable amount of time I've disappeared. I begin to shift throughout the crowd, standing on my toes even though I am wearing heels with my head turning every which way looking for a certain boy. I search nearly every part of the crowd. A sweaty ten minutes later of just moving around between bodies and conversations, I lean against one of the walls defeated. A waiter holding glasses of champagne walk by and I snag a drink, sipping an incredible amount from the tall glass.

"Ivory!" I know it's Daniel before I even see him. I turn around to his voice which comes from my left.

"Daniel! Hey," I say. What else do I say? Sorry I disappeared for like an hour?

"Where have you been?" he says, jogging up to me. He is a little out of breath but mostly sounds concerned rather than upset. He presses a worried hand to his forehead. "I thought you might've left or something. I know you haven't felt your best. And I know my words...." Daniel looks at me for any reaction. I stand still as if it'll hide my emotions. He finally just says, "They're a lot to handle."

I purse my lips. Everything seems clearer yet so confusing. "I..."

His eyebrows perk up and he walks closer. "Yeah?"

The gentle music in the room suddenly halts. The only sound is a spoon hitting the side of a champagne glass. Everyone pauses before turning their attention to Lee, who stands in the front of the room with a cupcake in front of him. The intricately designed cupcake has a single candle that has a small flame emitting from it. All eyes are on him.

"I just want to thank everyone for coming again to yet again another birthday bash of mine. Yes, I know. They're starting to get annoying," he jokes, causing the crowd to erupt in soft chuckles. "I mean, who doesn't like dressing up, free food and champagne, and a night out in the town? I certainly don't." Laughter booms across the room again. If they only knew how serious he is. "And thank you to those who stayed home, picking their bed and the latest TV drama over me. Either way, I am getting old again. To the pursuit of life and happiness! May we all remain young at heart. Cheers!"

On his account, the crowd all raise their glasses and chorus "Cheers!" as they laugh and smile at his shenanigans and joy for the night. I raise my glass in a strange proud, happy moment. I stare at Lee in delight. He blows the candle and everyone begins clapping as servers spread around in a manicured fashion with cupcake trays.

"Ivory, where were you?" Daniel asks, gently pressing my arm.

I glance at him quickly before watching Lee smile and take a bite of his cupcake. "I was..." The cupcake is chocolate and smears his upper lip. I find myself smiling big at that. Lee suddenly locks eyes with me and grins, chocolate mess and all.

"Ivory?" Daniel's stern voice snaps me out of my daze. I face the man in front of me. What was he saying? "I asked where you went. I was worried, that's all."

"I...I was...," I say, stumbling on what to say. Why can't I just tell the truth? Then again, if I could do that, would I be here at all? Probably not. To the side of my vision, I see Lee walking over with a cheeky grin and half a cupcake. My eyes dart back to Daniel. What do I say?

Just as I open my mouth again and Lee stands next to me, my phone rings.

Saved by the bell, I think as I inwardly sigh in relief. I look at both of the boys and raise my index finger, signaling for them to hold and make a show of pulling out my phone. I don't even look at the caller ID. I just need this distraction to save me from somehow telling my boyfriend where I was while the man who stole my time stands right by us. The situation is so tragically cliche that I am ready to leave any second now.

"Hello?" I greet. Daniel sighs, taking off his glasses and pressing the temple of his nose in stress. Lee takes another careful bite before pulling out the handkerchief from his chest pocket. It's also black like the entirety of his dark outfit tonight.

"Hello? Ivory Flores?" a female voice asks. Her voice is low and quiet. Raspy too. Smoker?

"Yes, this is she."

"This is Elle from your mother's medical team." Hearing anything about my mother sobers me up. Anything from before seems trivial.

"Yes? Is there an update?" I ask. Usually, Madam Jin contacts me. However, she's been M.I.A. ever since she told me she's "onto something" and therefore has been researching whatever latest family theory she has. Still, it's weird. I've never heard of Elle.

"Ivory...." There is a long pause, long enough for Lee to finish eating his cupcake and Daniel to take a champagne glass from a server. "I am sorry to inform you of this. Unfortunately, your mother"—I begin to lose feeling—"underwent cardiac arrest earlier. We are unsure to the cause currently. But due to the extreme stress already from the aneurysm and her prolonged coma status, her body was unable to handle the effects and our doctors were unable to recover your mother even through the most forward medical advancements.....We are so sorry for your loss."

And then...silence. Absolute silence.

I don't move. I stand in the same position from when she began talking, phone pressed to the ear. The noise in the room fades—it's a wild sensation. The other side of the line is quiet. It's as if a blanket of darkness spreads slowly over every inch of my life. I can't hear anything, not the party and life that continues or even my own breathing. I don't think I'm breathing. I can't feel my lungs. I don't know how to. I think I'm crying. My throat feels small and I feel like an observer watching everything uncover, but that's not the truth. This is happening. To me.

"She's having a panic attack." Four hands, two on each arm. One moves to my back. I'm sinking into the ground. No one notices yet.

"Bring her out."

"Who's she on the phone with?" I'm being taken somewhere. My mother's dead. It doesn't matter where I go. "Hello? Who is this?" My feet scrape against the floor and trip. I'm caught and held onto more firmly. I see a blur of dresses and feet. I don't want to look up. "Fuck, you're kidding me."

"What?"

"It's her mom." A pause. "She's..." The fading voice plummets my soul into the ground. She's gone. She's gone. Gone. Not gone like missing from my graduation, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Gone like the hope she could ever be at another one. Gone from this planet. Forever.

My mother—my beautiful, talented, creative, warm, and loving mother is dead.

I let out a blood curdling scream, yelling from all I have in me until my lungs feel like they're burning and my throat aches. Falling to my knees before people can hold me up, I let out another one, looking only at the ground. I begin to bang down on the floor and struggle out of arms trying to help me.

My mother is dead. Dead.

I pass out.

When I wake up, the first thing I see are the colorful streets all blurring by. My head is leaning against the passenger side window, my breath coming out and fogging up a small area of glass. I begin to sit up, feeling my head blur and jolt in pain as I do. The car is going at least 50mph, despite the speed limit and other cars. I look over to the driver. Jet black suit and blue eyes. This scene feels all too familiar.

"Lee?" I try to say but my voice comes out scratchy and my throat pulses in pain. What happened?

As soon as I ask that question, it all comes flooding back in. The phone call.

My breathing begins to quicken as sweat begins to form at my hairline and in the lines of my palm. "Oh god," I mutter. "Ohgodohgodohgod."

Lee's hand reaches over and squeezes my hand. "Shhh. It's okay, it's okay. Deep breaths. I got you." He switches lanes, his eyes never leaving the road and his voice never wavering. "Just hang tight. I'll get you to the hospital in the next two minutes. I think you need to prepare for what you are about to walk in on."

Though an large unspoken amount of drama has passed between us in the past couple of months, I find myself beginning to slow down in a good way. My breath relaxes as my hands unclench. I try to fizzle out the direct reason for my panic, flickering my eyes to each car that passes or stoplight instead.

Thirty-three cars and two stoplights later, I am at the hospital.

The tall building that I have passively entered and exited so many times before. I have almost been in this building as much as my own house. A flood of memories take over my mind. Back when I had originally been adjusting to my comatose mother, it had been prom season. I had taken a selfie with her, adamant in showing her when she woke up. The doubts of "if" had sulked around my head before, but my mind had never wandered and settled into the idea of her never waking up. I have no idea how do to deal with the reality of all of this.

Men are waiting for me outside of the hospital. I recognize them as the security that sits perched outside my mother's door. A mixture of Madam Jin and Lee's men.

"Sir." One of them comes up to Lee and I.

"You," Lee says as he throws the car keys, "park this." His eyes turn over to the remaining man. "You. Walk with me. Brief me down."

"Yes, sir," both of them respond.

Lee's hand gently presses on my back, moving me along as I certainly would love to stay right in place and never walk in. He keeps me close, as if he's afraid I'll crump. He's right. I probably will. "Baby steps, take it easy," he whispers, his ears accidentally brushing the side of my head. For some reason, the action jolts a thought in my head.

"Lee," I say, halting to a stop that even he abruptly pauses. "Where is Daniel?"

His mouth opens slightly, in which way I don't know. Surprised? Hurt? Quickly, he removes his emotions from the situation. "He's getting your stuff, a change of clothes, and picking up Candy. Once we get up there, I'll call your brother." His eyes shift over to something behind me. "It seems Madam Jin is already here."

I turn immediately. In the middle of gracefully taking off her gloves, she stands intimidatingly in a big fur coat that encompasses her entire upper body. She looks disheveled, a prospect I have never seen her in. I haven't seen her in weeks and yet she has the ability to just reappear in the right moments. Despite this, I have a strange urge to just find comfort in her, so I do. Without thinking, I run up to her and hug her. She holds me tight right away.

"I'm so sorry, Ivory," she says, her voice wavering in a breathy tone. She soothes her hand up and down over my hair. "My team called me immediately and I came rushing. There was nothing modern medicine could do. I'm sorry."

I begin to cry again in her arms. Hearing her say it feels so official. If Madam Jin, the epitome of power and wealth, cannot do anything, it really must be the end. Sometimes, power and wealth hold no weight in the fluid world of life and death. I desperately wish they did. Then, at least, there would be something that could control human life, superficial as the factors were.

"I-I don't know what to do anymore," I tell her. My voice sounds like the aftermath of a raging rock concert. I am honest for once.

"I will take care of you, step by step. Don't you worry for now," she tells me, pulling back and looking me in the eyes. I can tell she's strained, spread thin over the truth of today and the stressors that also dominate her life that I have no idea nor place in. For her, there is so much more beyond her potential granddaughter and the search for her missing son. She has an economic empire, her own mental health, and personal issues all at once. I wish I could help but I can barely hold myself up right now.

"Thank you," I say for now. Lee emerges by my side, hugging and kissing Madam Jin on the cheeks.

"Get Mark here," Madam Jin commands to which Lee barely hesitates to before making a call. "Come on, Ivory. We will all walk up together. You can see your mother...one last time."

It feels foreign to hear names like Mark and Candy. I have been in my own personal demise the past few weeks, in complete isolation from the people that care the most. Tonight is the first time I went out and yet the night possesses darker turns than expected. I don't know if I will ever crawl out of this deep feeling of hopelessness, especially now.

In the elevator, all of us are on the phone.

"Thank you, Daniel," I say, pressing the phone to my ear. "You're doing more than enough."

"It's no problem," he replies, the background noise a mixture of shuffling around and his voice wandering from the microphone of the phone. It sounds like he's packing me clothes and other necessities in an overnight bag. "Candy said she will be there soon. She doesn't want to waste time and will hail a taxi or something. I have your stuff and I'm going to speed. There shouldn't be traffic at this hour. Remember, you're going to be okay. I love you."

I freeze. There it is again. I peer over, seeing if anyone heard it. Lee stands by my side, his eyebrows furrowed, holding back anger as he orders more guards and tighter security to keep from press leaking anything and safe guides to people like Mark or Candy who should be arriving soon. He didn't hear.

Wait a minute, why do I care if he heard? I push my thoughts down.

"Thank you for everything," I respond, feeling myself squeeze inwardly. I should say I love him back. But it's not good timing. Plus, I should say it with a clear head. The elevator dings to my mother's floor. "I have to go. Keep me updated. I will be waiting here for you."

Daniel, unbothered by my lack of the three words, replies with ease. "No problem. You're stronger than you think, Ivory. Remember who you are."

We end the call, the air suddenly feeling heavier and heavier. I begin to get the tight feeling in my chest again, sweat threatening to overwhelm my palms and forehead. A hand wraps around my shoulders and rests on my left shoulder.

Lee holds me up, his eyes fierce and piercing into mine. "Listen to me, Ivory. You don't have to do this. If you need more time, take it. If at any point, you feel like you can't handle it, that's all right. Let me know, okay? This is all about you. Your say. One word, and we're out."

I nod, pressing my eyes shut for a second. I take a breath, opening my eyes again. "Thank you."

Unconsciously, maybe out of habit, he presses his hand to my cheek. "Brent is being flown in my private jet right now. He should be here in a couple hours. Mark is also a minute or two away. My agents have located Candace—Candy—at Grand Central. We're escorting her by car. I have cars on stand in case you wish to welcome any of your college friends, though some of them are out of state. I have also just sent a helicopter for Daniel. Everyone you love will be here to support you. I will make sure of it."

I remove his hand from my cheek, bringing it to my lips. I kiss it with the remaining energy I have in me, resulting in a feather of a kiss in the palm of his hands. "You have already done so."

Lee's eyes soften, his eyes almost darkening in thought, as if he's lost in a memory or idea of something. His mouth opens, breath shaky. His eyes look courageous and a small sounds releases from his lips but he shuts his mouth tightly before he can say anything. He blinks, a crease appearing between his eyebrows. He pulls his hand away. "Let's get you to the room."

I nod, finding myself upset more than I was for some reason. I turn, forgetting what just happening and reeling myself in for what I am going to have to see.

Madam Jin ends her call, stepping forward. "Ready?"

"Ready," I announce, feeling anything but.

We begin to walk together down the hallway I know too well. We stand out, me in my maroon gown and Lee in his jet black suit. Madam Jin always stands out, oozing the 1% vibe that every citizen wishes to be. Some people waiting around in chairs stare openly. I wonder what they are here for. Maybe their wives just gave birth. Maybe they have a broken ankle. Or maybe they are just like me, trying to grasp at anything to teach me how to hold onto life.

A phone vibrates. Lee pauses, answering immediately. "Penny," he greets. I wince only a bit before my heart begins to pulse rapidly as I see the turn that leads to Mom's room. Madam Jin and I wait, looking at Lee. He nudges with his nose and says, "Go on. I'll catch up in a minute."

For some reason, I feel emptier and weaker when Madam Jin and I continue with his absence. However, I reel it in and ground myself to be strong. I remember Daniel's words. I recall Lee's words. I am strong. Everyone will be here soon so after I have my heart ripped out, I can at least lean on some of my closest friends.

I take long, deep breaths, counting backwards from 30 as I approach Mom's room.

A203.

The number haunts me to come in. The same room where I have been in as milestones in my life occurred without my mother, pieces I wished to share as I went into this room. Though unresponsive, this room always held my alive mother. To think that once I open the door, everything would be different made me shake. I held my shaking fist tight.

Madam Jin's eyebrows join together in confusion, immediately calling someone before being sent to voicemail. "Jerry, I don't know where you or your team are right now. I do not care what security we have downstairs if we don't have anyone up here at the door. Get people up here, ASAP."

The night feels like an ongoing compilation of commanding calls, organizing how I am going to handle my disheveled life, and constant anxiety as I get closer and closer to physically seeing the truth. Everyone seems stressed from Lee to Madam Jin. I want my brother more than anyone else in this second. I wouldn't want to walk in without him. I consider waiting, but realize that Mom has been my responsibility for a while and I am mature enough to handle this. I was raised well.

"I'm ready," I tell Madam Jin, looking over at her with the only smile I can muster, which probably looks more scary than an attempted act of strength.

She nods, one hand holding mine and another opening the door.

Inside, there is a dead body.

A gasp escapes me as it does Madam Jin. I feel my heart seize, my breathing turn irregular. There are several dead bodies. Two men in suits lie on the ground next to the door, their blood spilling and staining the white marble floors. Their faces will give me nightmares for months, expressions of agony, shock, and unfinished screams.

"Jerry," I hear Madam Jin choke out as she locates her head of security on the ground, bleeding out and long gone.

Looking up, my eyes connect to a pair too much like my own. My father.

At this point, I feel like throwing up. Everything is happening too fast in too high of magnitudes. What the hell is going on? I can barely think or process anything straight.

Madam Jin begins to make a haunting noise, somewhere between squealing and crying and shock. Her hands are shaking, covering her mouth as if to control the sounds escaping her mouth. Already, tears are all over her face. Am I crying? I can't tell. "Nate," she breathes out in a whisper, her voice in disbelief and terror as she calls out my father's name.

My eyes see him but I can't register my father as a living, standing human in front of me. He looks familiar and foreign all at once. And scared. He stands next to the bed, where I barely have the time to peek at my mother. Something else is demanding my attention more in the moment.

There is a gun pressed to the temple of my father's head.

--

Hey everyone! I'm back. Yes, for the umpteenth time. I can be very annoying. But trust me when I say I've been very busy. I just finished my first semester as a college freshman and am about to start my second! I've been working with Episode for the SWAL Launch with CAMERON DALLAS (Go play on Episode!)! It actually surpassed 6 million hits TODAY, all in 22 days!!! Can you believe that?? I also just finished the manuscript for Started With a Lie...BIG THINGS COMING :)

I missed you all very much and writing this. I am out of my funk! I know, I know. I'm sporadic and hard to rely on. But this book is finally coming to an end...This is one of the few last chapters :( Lots of mixed emotions there. I'm happy and sad at the same time! But excited. Should I make a sequel?? On who?? When? Should I continue Lee and Ivory's story? Should I focus on side characters? Should I take it to the future? Let me know!

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