First Came You (Fate #0.5) (16 page)

Authors: Faith Andrews

“Mommy!” Stella rushes over to me and her skinny arms wrap around my waist. “What happened, Mommy? We heard about the planes.”

Nina walks closer to our huddle, her aunt clasping her hand as they stride toward us with their heads hung low. “All the kids are saying the World Trade Center was bombed. Is it true, Mommy?”

“And what about . . . Daddy? That’s where Daddy’s office is. Is Daddy . . . is he okay? Is he coming home early?” Stella looks up at me, her brown eyes glistening with tears. My bright little girl—in this moment I wish she wasn’t so smart.

Is he coming home?
How do I break her heart by telling the truth?
Daddy’s never coming home, sweetheart.
I can’t do it.

I can’t do this to my perfect family. The perfect family that is no longer complete because the heart and soul of it was taken away from us this morning.

As shivers rake over my skin and the blood pumps loudly in my ears, my legs shake and I ready myself for the collapse. But I don’t falter. I stand tall, look over my shoulder at the television behind me, and glare at the mayhem unfolding on the screen.

Our life will never be the same. There is no turning back, but I can’t be the one to break this news to my children. I can’t speak the words they should hear from
my
mouth.

Holding them close, one arm wrapped around each of their delicate, pre-teen frames, I usher them to the couch so the NY1 news reporter can explain to them everything that I cannot. Yes, I’m a coward. Yes, I’m supposed to be strong for them. But with my strength—my Tommy—missing from my life, I don’t know how I’ll ever go on.

Faith Andrews lives in New York with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and a furry Yorkie son, Rocco. If she isn’t listening to Mumford & Sons or busy being a Dance Mom, her nose is in a book or her laptop. She’s a sucker for a happily ever after and believes her characters are out there living one somewhere…

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