Book Two in the "Alcaraz Duology"
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐱𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Catalina Alcaraz is a single mother with a past that she doesn't wish to revisit. She has managed to become a successful doctor and to create a life of her own desp...
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My mother came and calmed me down after I came to see Orion and I cried, feeling guilty and useless. She urged me to go home and rest.
I didn't fully listen.
I had intended to go to Lucia's but instead I ended up at the house.
It doesn't feel the same to be here anymore, and somehow, I have managed to end up in Orion's bedroom. The entire place is incredibly quiet and empty, and not in a pleasant way.
I'm lying on my son's bed with one of his plush bears clasped to my chest. I've been feeling a terrible sadness ever since I walked into the hospital to see him. I can no longer bear to watch him in that state.
My eyes roam around the room before settling on a dresser. Scattered across the top is a stack of papers. They're cards and letters from teammates, coaches, classmates, and teachers.
They're for when he wakes up so that he can see how much everyone has missed him and how loved he is. Along with those papers, there are some graded assignments from teachers now that the school year has ended.
He didn't even get to say goodbye to his friends for the summer.
My curiosity gets the best of me, so I get up from the bed to go look through the cards and papers. The sweet things written in a handful of them make me smile. Seeing so many kind words written about my Orion fills my heart with a great sense of happiness.
When my eyes are drawn to the pile of graded papers, I stop looking through the letters and cards. All of the papers have outstanding grades that fill me with pride toward my son.
A paper in particular interests me. It's an essay and there is a perfect score on it. It comes to me immediately that it's the essay he discussed with me not too long ago. The one where he had to write about who his hero is.
My hero is my mom.
That one statement is all it takes for me to start tearing up. It strikes me right in the heart. I read the whole thing. Every word crushes me into small pieces as all I wish to do is hold him tightly in my arms.
He wrote that he loves me because I take care of him. He goes on to explain how I care for him, and each word written is precious. He adds that my career and intelligence are the reasons he finds me inspiring. He writes that hopes to become a doctor or scientist someday because of me, or maybe a professional soccer player.
I start crying uncontrollably after reading the entire page.
This is all so painful that I have to sit on the ground and hold to bear tighter. I want my baby back.
I desperately miss and need to see his lovely brown eyes again. I need to see his beautiful smile and hear his changing voice. I miss his laughter and simply observing his way of being.
