“Odette!
“Miss!”
Both of them rushed to my side, catching me before I fell.
“Didn’t you hear the doctor! You have to be careful! Even if you feel all right, your body is still weak!” my mom yelled at me.
“Sorry,” I whispered. Because truthfully, I had forgotten for a second.
I’d had allergic reactions before, but this was the worst I had ever experienced. It was partially because I didn’t just eat a Reese’s Cup. I had swallowed pure peanut extract—no, I didn’t swallow that, I was fed that.
“Come on, miss, let’s get you back to bed,” Wolfgang said, helping me walk back into the hospital room.
The second reason this was so much harder was that I had also miscarried, which was almost as hard to understand as someone trying to kill me. I found out I was pregnant after being relieved I wasn’t, only to later lose that pregnancy. I didn’t know how I was supposed to feel. So again, I was trying to ignore all those thoughts. But it didn’t always work. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking that all of this was insane. It reminded me of that quote, “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.” This week felt like a decade, and I was tired, so very tired.
“Sweetheart. Sweetheart?”
“Huh?” I shook my head, looking at my mother as she sat on the edge.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” I replied, looking around the room. “Where did Wolfgang go?”
“He stepped away while you were zoning out.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“No need to be sorry.” She took my hand, petting it slowly. “If you want to zone out or you want to cry or scream, then zone out or cry or scream. If you want to leave, then let’s leave.”
My eyebrows furrowed, not understanding what she was saying. “The doctor said we should wait another day before—”
“I meant, leave Ersovia.”
“What?”
She squeezed my hand tighter. “You’ve done so well, sweetheart. Done more than I or anyone else could have ever done. But it’s okay not to win sometimes. It’s okay to stop trying.”
“Mom.”
“You’re tired. You’re scared. You’re confused. Someone poisoned you, Odette. That is not a small thing. It’s okay for you to take a step back and go home with me and truly rest. The moment you step out of this hospital, these people will be demanding you to do something, put yourself out there for criticism again. They did not stop even when their prince died. They won’t stop for you to catch your breath, either. If we go home, we won’t have to see anyone, just like in here. And you can even start making music again. Don’t you miss your music?”
I did. But then again... “I never had time to miss music. I had to keep to a schedule.”
“No more schedules,” she said sternly, though she forced herself to smile. “Just facials, yogurt, music, movie nights, and peace of mind. Don’t you want that?”
I nodded, hanging my head.
“So, let’s go home, sweetheart. Please.” She had forced a smile, but tears were now in her eyes as she begged me, her grip on me even tighter. “Odette, you are all I have. And I don’t want to risk you anymore for anything. Please listen to me. Let’s go.”
I nodded again. “Okay.”
“I’ll get our tickets,” she said, getting up quickly. “When we get back, and when you are feeling better, we could go on a road trip. See all fifty states. Drive with the top down and wrap scarves over our heads like in the movies.”
I swallowed something stuck in my throat and smiled. “What about the bugs that would hit our face.”
“Ew.” She cringed. “Maybe we can keep the top up.”
I laughed. “There is no point in the scarves.”