The Resurrection of Wildflowers （Wildflower #2）
Micalea Smeltzer
For anyone who has had to live through unimaginable pain and had to become stronger because of it.
揊lowers grow out of dark moments.?
桟orita Kent
PROLOGUE
SALEM
It took me a while to learn that sometimes no matter how much, or how hard you love someone, or something, you have to let them go. You can抰 save a sinking ship.
Sometimes, you have someone else you have to be strong for, who needs you more.
You make a choice.
A devastating one.
And you hope, maybe one day, they抣l come back to you.
CHAPTER 1
SALEM
Spring in Hawthorne Mills is my favorite. I haven抰 spent any time here since I left six years ago. I came back a few times that summer, hoping the man I loved next door would snap out of it and see me, come back to me, but he never did.
Thayer Holmes was lost to me, so I tucked my tail and moved on.
Got a job waitressing at a diner close to Lauren抯 apartment. I stored away every penny I could. Caleb and I started talking more, and then we started dating again, it was almost a year to the day of Georgia抯 wedding that he asked me to marry him, and I said yes. We married two months later. He finished college and we moved to California. I loved it there, almost as much as here, but he got a job offer a year ago in Boston, so we returned.
And still I never set foot back here at my childhood home.
He knew why and it hurt him.
All I抳e ever done is hurt him.
So, I let him go.
Our divorce was easy, just like everything with us. I know he抣l always be in my life, but now he抯 free to find the kind of love I knew once. Once you抳e had it, nothing else compares no matter how much you try and how much work you put into it.
It抯 like trying to fit a puzzle piece in a space it doesn抰 belong.
Opening the car door, I step onto the driveway.
As much as I swore I抎 never come back here, to this place, to him, only one thing could bring me back. Letting myself into the house, I find my mom in the makeshift bed set up in the living room.
揌i, Mom.?It takes everything I have in me to stave off the tears. I don抰 want her to see me cry.
揟here抯 my girl,?she smiles, beckoning me forward with a swish of her pale thin hand.
My mom抯 dying.
The cancer found its way back and nothing has worked this time. No matter how hard she fights, it抯 stronger, and now she has two months, perhaps not even that, left to live.
My steps sound so loud to my ears as I make my way into the living room and bend down to hug her.
揧ou just missed Georgia,?she tells me, her hug weak. There抯 not much muscle or fat on her body. She抯 withering away right before our eyes. 揑抦 sure I抣l see her later.?
揟he kids were asking about you guys.?
I smile, brushing my fingers over the papery skin on her cheek. 揟hey抣l see us soon.?Georgia and Michael have two kids now and another on the way. To say they have their hands full is an understatement, but they抮e happy. 揇o you need anything??
揑抦 okay right now. Maybe we could watch a movie or something after you bring your stuff in??
揟hat sounds good, Mom.?
Caleb and I have remained living together since the divorce. It just made sense while I figured out my next step, but with my mom抯 condition deteriorating I knew it was time to return home. To take care of her in her final days, give Georgia a break, and when the inevitable happens clean out the house and figure out what comes next.
It抯 hard, knowing my future is a big question mark at the moment. I抣l be twenty-six later this year and just like at eighteen, I still don抰 have shit figured out. But maybe that抯 the truth of adulthood no one wants to tell you梬e抮e all out here winging it.
Outside, I steadfastly ignore the house next door. I know he still lives there, my mom mentions him from time to time. Sometimes I wonder if she does it trying to gauge my reaction. I抳e never told her about what happened with Thayer. With my heart so broken, and accepting that him and I were truly over, I didn抰 see the point.
I manage to get all of my stuff brought inside without stealing a peek next door.
That抯 a lie.
I take a small one.
Just long enough to see the completed treehouse in the backyard and the hint of the roof of a greenhouse.
揇id you get everything??My mom抯 croaky voice sounds so small from the living room.
揑 did. I抣l carry some of it up now.?
揂ll right. I think I抣l just ?rest my ?eyes ?for a bit.?
She can抰 see me in the kitchen, but tears spring to my eyes.
She抯 slipping away. What could抳e been a long life is now measured in weeks, hours, minutes, seconds, and every single one is precious.
CHAPTER 2
SALEM
My room is a relic.
It抯 literally exactly the same. For some reason, I expected my mom to have changed it in some way. It抯 clean since both Georgia and I pitch in to pay a cleaning lady to come by weekly. There抯 not a speck of dust anywhere. The bed is freshly made, the corners of the covers crisp.
Since my mom is sleeping and not going to be ready to watch a movie anytime soon, I unpack my clothes and toiletries, then call Caleb.
揌ey,?he says, his voice deep. 揇id you make it in all right??
揧eah, thanks for asking.?
揌ow抯 your mom??
I sigh, rubbing my forehead. 揝leeping. She抯 frailer than I expected.?
揑抦 sorry.?I can hear the genuineness in his voice. Despite us falling apart, Caleb remains to be one of the kindest people I know.
揑t is what it is,?I reply softly, sitting on the end of my bed facing the window I used to sit out on, often with Caleb himself.
揝omeone抯 trying to steal the phone from me,?he chuckles.
I laugh too. 揚ut her on.?
揗ommy!?My daughter抯 voice is like a balm to a wound. With just one word she makes me feel better, more grounded.
揌i, baby. How抯 your day been??
揋ood. Daddy picked me up from school and we went to the grocery store. I got a lollipop.?
I hear Caleb laugh in the background. 揟hat was supposed to be our secret.?
揙ops,?she giggles.
Seda was the unexpected surprise Thayer left me with. She抯 been the gift I didn抰 know I wanted or needed. Being her mom makes me feel like a superhero.
揑 miss you already,?I tell her.
揑 miss you, too, Mommy. Give grandma kisses梱ou always say kisses will make it better.?
Oh, fuck. I抦 going to cry. I wish tears would make my mom better, but I don抰 think magical kisses can fight cancer off.
揑 will,?I say to my daughter. 揑 love you.?
揕ove you, Mommy!?She hangs up the phone, the line going quiet.
When I make my way back downstairs, my mom is still asleep so I decide to go ahead and start on dinner. Georgia says Mom isn抰 eating much these days, but I have to at least try.
Searching the cabinets I come across a bottle of wine, probably something Georgia stashed before she got pregnant again, and open it. Filling the glass, I drink as I cook. I抦 not a huge drinker, but today calls for a little wine to soothe my nerves.
揝alem??My mom calls and I turn away from the simmering pot.
揧eah??I call back, surprised she抯 awake. I expected to have to wake her.
揅ould you bring me some water??
Filling up a cup with a straw, I carry it in to her and hold it to her lips. She drinks greedily, her eyes grateful. Setting the cup down, I ask her, 揇o you need anything else? I抦 making dinner.?
揘o, the water was all.?She pats my hand lovingly. 揑抦 sorry I fell asleep before we could watch a movie.?