Reflection (Book #2)

Chapter Sixteen

"What the fuck happened?" Wesley asked as I doused a rag in hot water to clean the blood from the living room floor.

I watched my hands shaking. "It was an accident," I whispered.

Welsey pulled the cloth from my hand, rubbing my back. "Just tell me what happened," he said gently.

I shook my head. "Ben and Alex were wrestling around. Alex wanted to try and take him on in a fake fight, to show him the things he's been learning at school. I should've been watching them," I sobbed.

"Delilah, it's okay. Breathe." He pulled me into his arms, and I wept into his chest.

"He was fine, and then he was dying. I didn't know what to do. Alex must've found a gun... He didn't mean to."

"I know he didn't. I'm not mad at you, sweetheart. I just want to know what happened."

"I heard him drop, and Alex let out this blood-curdling scream. I tried to stop the blood, but he was choking. His heart was slowing down. He was losing too much blood. I couldn't wait for an ambulance, so I just..."

Wesley's hands moved up and down my back in a comforting way. "Ben will be just fine. You know that. You saved him."

"His mom... Last night I made him call his mom and she was already so upset. What if she rejects him, because if what I did to him?"

"That won't happen." He leaned back to look in my eyes. "That's not going to happen. It was an accident. A Zuri son is better than a dead son. You're a mom, you know that. Anything is better than a dead kid, right?"

I nodded slowly, pushing down the memories that threatened to surface. "He wanted me to do it," I whispered. "I wasn't ready. He knew I wasn't ready, but it's what he wanted."

"He wanted to become Zuri?" Wesley asked.

"He did. He talked about it almost every day it seemed like." I scoffed, wiping at my eyes. "He's going to be so happy." I smiled, despite the pain in my heart. "I kept pushing it off, telling him he needed to think about all the consequences before he made a decision."

"That's good, then. So he knows what to expect. When do you think he'll wake up? I'll call Baya and have them send suicides over."

"I don't know. I... I've never even seen someone going through transition." I wish I could call Dion. Dion, if you can hear me, if there was ever a time for you to barge into my mind, this is the time.

"That's okay. Just let me know when he starts to wake up so I can contact Baya. I'll also talk to our boss and let him know."

"Is he going to lose his job?"

"No, there are Zuri that work with us. That won't affect him."

"I can't believe this is happening," I mumbled, staring at the floor.

"Do you want me to stay?"

"No, I'm okay. We'll be okay. Thank you for coming. I was panicking. I'll see you-"

Ben moaned upstairs, and I rushed to him.

"I'm right here." I climbed into bed so I could hold his head in my lap. "Don't worry about whatever you're seeing. You won't even remember it. It can't hurt you."

He encircled my thighs in both his arms. "Pain," he breathed.

"I can't believe you can still talk," I replied. "I'm not going anywhere I'll be right here. Let me know if there's any way I can help you." I stroked his back. "You'll be so strong," I cheered. "You're going to love being Zuri. I just wish there was an easier way to get you there than going through all this. When you wake up, you're going to be very hungry. You won't even be able to hear my voice anymore over the urge, but I'll help you through it."

His moans got louder, so I massaged his shoulders.

"It's all going to work out. You'll barely remember how this feels once it's over. Our dhamana will be completed. You'll have to get used to being able to feel me. You will look a little different." I sniffled and realized tears were pouring down my cheeks. "I almost lost you. What the hell would I have done without you?" I played with his hair until I fell asleep.

"Mama," Alex whispered, "is he okay?"

I blinked awake, listening to the sound of Ben's groans as he crushed my legs in the tightest cuddle he could manage. "I think so." I pushed my fingers through his sweaty hair. "He'll be okay, baby. You can talk to him if you want. He can hear you, but he probably won't remember what you say."

"Then I'm going to wait till he wakes up. I want him to remember." He reached out and held Ben's hand. "I love you, Baba. I can't wait for you to wake up."

"Do you want me to call Uncle Kyle to come get you for a couple days?" I whispered.

"I don't know. I want to clean up my mess first."

"You don't have to do that. I can clean it up."

Ben whimpered, clenching tighter.

Alex cracked a small smile, before forcing it back down. "I don't think you can go anywhere. I'll do it, Mama."

"Thank you." I peered down at Ben's grimacing face as Alex walked downstairs. "I hope you meant what you said about wanting to be with us forever, because you just earned yourself four-hundred more years with me."