“Hello?”

“You spoke with Sofie?”

Irritated by his insistence of calling her that and not thrilled about his extra chilly tenor, she frowned. “Yes. I called her—”

“You called her?” His voice went up a notch, bordering on the explosive now. “Why?”

“Because I needed to know the whole truth, but not—”

“Because my truth wasn’t worth shit?” He practically spit his words out, and she was certain now what he was thinking. “Whatever Alex put in your head had you questioning me and calling Sofie?”

“You wouldn’t answer your phone, Brandon. I tried calling you first.”

“Go to hell,” he said coldly, and the line clicked.

Her jaw dropped as she pulled the phone in front of her to confirm he’d actually hung up on her. With the confirmation that he had, Regina got in her car, throwing her phone on the passenger seat. She understood why he’d be so pissed, but he could at the very least have given her a chance to explain.

“How f**king rude!” she growled as she turned her car on.

Her phone rang, and she snatched it up, hitting the answer button. “How dare you?” she said loudly, already feeling choked up.

But the male voice on the other end wasn’t Brandon’s. “What?”

She shook her head, feeling a little stupid. “Art?”

“Yeah, who’d you think it was?”

Not wanting to get into it with him and in a hurry to get to Brandon, she played it off. “A friend of mine. I was just being silly. What’s up?”

“Bad news, babe. Dad’s back in the hospital.” Her heart tanked, and she gripped the wheel. “It’s not looking good. They want us all down there ASAP. I’d just gotten home when I got the call. I could swing by and get you.”

“No!” she said, the lump in her throat nearly unbearable, and her voice gave. “Not looking good?” she cried as she pulled out of the parking space. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. They just told me to get there as soon as I could and to get you on the way. Gina, you shouldn’t drive like this.”

“Too late. I’m already on my way. I’ll just meet you there.”

As soon as she hung up, she let out a sob, banging her steering wheel. “Daddy, wait for me, please!”

~~~

The moment she arrived at the hospital, she knew she was too late. Bell tore herself away from Romero, whose chest she was latched on to, and ran to Gina.

“Sissy, he’s gone! Daddy’s gone!” she sobbed, wrapping her arms around her.

Regina nearly collapsed, but she held onto Bell with a shuddering bawl. She allowed herself to fall apart for just a few minutes as she and Bell clung to each other. When she walked into her father’s room where her mom was sitting holding his lifeless hand praying, it took everything in her, but she held it together. Pat stood next to her mom, crying softly, and Gina hugged her then leaned over and kissed her mom on the head.

“How are you feeling, Mom?”

Her mom didn’t answer. She didn’t even look up. She just kept praying and brought her husband’s hand to her cheek.

Instantly, Regina was all business. “Have they checked her blood pressure?” Bell and Pat exchanged blank glances. “They need to,” she said, heading out.

Just as she’d been afraid of, her mom’s blood pressure had spiked. Regina’s grief turned into utter dread. She’d just lost one parent. The last thing she wanted was to have to worry about her mom making herself sick over this. Not surprising, her mom hadn’t remembered to take her medicine lately as she should. Her mom took it and was taken out of the room so she could sit somewhere and relax away from the sight of her dead husband until her blood pressure went down. Regina sat with her and her siblings, and they spoke calmly about the good times with her dad, remembering only things that made her mom smile even if both her sisters were a mess.

Bell held onto Romero, burying her face in his neck. Art held Pat, comforting her as Regina continued to speak to her mother soothingly. After about an hour, they were allowed back in her father’s room for a final good-bye. Both Pat and Bell said they’d stay the night with her mom. Regina needed to leave—needed the luxury of falling apart like she really wanted to. She took the long numbing drive home where she’d now spend her first night without Brandon, grieving alone.

~~~

Afraid of giving into the temptation of calling Brandon, Regina dropped her cell phone on the floor and then proceeded to bang on it with the bat she’d pulled out of the closet. When she was satisfied it was completely non-functional, she proceeded to smash the mirror on the wall and then the lamp on the table next to it. Little by little as she obliterated everything in her sight she fell on the floor, taking another big swig straight from the wine bottle, and sobbed.

This was exactly why she didn’t want to be tempted to call him. She didn’t want anyone, but especially Brandon, to see her this way. The excruciating pain of losing her father manifested itself and was quickly becoming too overwhelming. It was making her feel as if she was losing her mind—she could barely breathe, and she no longer had the will to fight the temptation to pull the gun out of that trunk. If Brandon caught her this way, this may be the last time he ever saw her, and she’d be damned if she wanted him to remember her this way.

She hated feeling so weak, but she was. Any strength she needed to try and get through this subsided with every second that passed. “Why!” she screamed, agonized.