Blissful Devastation (Leighton Lock Chronicles #1) (7 page)

I have managed to keep my mum alive for another two months,
bed bound and barely alive, but still breathing. She has cancer, an aggressive
form, that is eating away at her, taking every last piece of her with it.

“Mum, how you feeling?” I ask her, bringing my son in the
room to sit on the bed with her. He is now seven months old and healthy as
anything. She cherishes these moments. Getting to see the life and vibrancy my
son possesses, it make her force herself to live a little bit longer.

“Not good, kid. I'm tired.” She smiles faintly, the oxygen
tubes in her nostril slipping a little. I push them back up, then straighten
her pillows and lift her bony body back up.

“Want me to get you something?” I ask her, lifting the cup
of water from the side and sliding the straw into her mouth to drink from. Her
cracked lips barely surround it as she weakly sucks from it, managing to draw a
few droplets into her mouth.

I am breaking, once again, the same as seven months ago,
when I saw Josie so lifeless and weak. This is my mother, the woman I love
unconditionally, losing a battle she was never going to win. If only I had
known earlier, I could have got her the help. She had told me my father refused
to get her the home care she needed, leaving her to slowly drift.

If there is one thing I want in this world, it is to kill
him, for everything he has ever done. My mother has made me promise not to
touch him but by God do I want to.

“No, I don't need anything, Son. It’ll be soon, I just need
to say goodbye to you all.” She smiles again, tears trickling from the corner
of her eyes, collecting in a little pool on her pillow.

Joseph plays with the cover over her, pulling and tugging at
it, giggling and mumbling away to himself. My mum looks to him, struggling, but
succeeding to lift her hand and stroke his mop of brown hair. He is still the
spitting image of his mum, absolutely beautiful.

“I'm sorry for everything, Leighton. Sorry I couldn’t be a
better mum.” My mum tells me, clasping my hand lamely.

“Shhh, mum, you were perfect. You did everything for me.” I
lean and kiss her head, her eyes closing slowly. Her breaths start to become
laboured and short, her chest struggling to draw breath in.

I know it’s coming, probably within the next hour, and I’m
not ready for it.

She begins to cough weakly, trying to clear the build up of
fluid in her lungs. “Leighton, I need to tell you something.” She manages to
say. I can see her losing it, she is fading quickly. The blood on the surface
of her skin is beginning to draw back, a white hue coating her all over. Her
breathing becomes almost non-existent. I have to get my brother and sister
here, they need to say goodbye before it’s too late.

“GEORGIA, BRANDON!” I shout at the top of my lungs from the
doorway of her room, before returning to her side.

“Leighton, it was him.” she tells me as I hold onto her hand
again. I remove Joe from her bed, placing him on my knee so I can move closer.

“What was who mum?” I ask her, leaning in close as her
speech becomes so quiet its almost unrecognisable.

“Your father... Josie.” She manages to say, before turning
her head to the side and sucking in small tiny gasps of air.

“What, Leighton?” my siblings rush in the room, speeding to
my mum’s side.

We all surround her, holding her hands, stroking her face as
she drifts away, her breathing eventually stopping, her eyes shutting as she
sleeps.

“Goodnight, mum. I love you.” I say quietly, as I lean down
and kiss my mum’s lifeless body, for the last time.

I leave my sister and brother beside her bed, their sobs
heard throughout the entire house.

I walk to Antonio, sitting in the lounge with his sister,
comforting her as she cries quietly over the loss of my mother.

“Take him.” I say sharply, placing Joe in his lap.

“Mate, I’m so sorry.” Ant goes to stand, but I look at him
sharply causing him to sit back down.

“JUST. LOOK. AFTER. HIM.” I bite out, walking from the
house.

My Josie. My mum. Both dead. Because of him.

All I can say is ‘good luck, arsehole’ as I start my car and
drive dangerously fast from Antonio’s house.

Auf Wiedersehen, Mother Fucker.

~ TO BE
CONTINUED ~

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Watch out for book two in
the series, Beautiful Vengeance, Due for release June 10
^th
2014.