Breath of Life by Sara Marion Read Free Book Online Page A

he was with me.” She felt her own anger rising at the thought of the memories. “But he had every right to be.”
    “Jack was angry yes, but even through all that he never stopped loving you. He forgave me for my part in things and even stayed with me awhile after he left you. There were nights that he wanted to go back and apologize to you, try to work things through but his anger about the situation always beat him. He stayed and never chased you. By the time he let it go of that anger, he was in New York and you were in the facility.” He paused. Paxton saw him studying her. She shifted in her chair and looked away from him.
    “I see now what he was talking about. You faked a break down didn’t you?”
    She wouldn’t look at him or even respond. She went into a familiar daze. It was the one that she put on after Jack left. She just had to remember the emptiness she felt in those moments she spent lying on the floor of their cabin.
    “Paxton?”
    She felt him put his hand on her shoulder. She figured he was trying to get her to look at him.
    “I have to go.”
    She stood up and went to Jack’s bedside. He was still out from the anesthesia. She ran her fingers through his hair and stared at him a moment. He almost looked like the Jack she fell in love with. Carefree, loving, and patient. She felt the tears pooling in her eyes and she shut them. Even though she was still angry with God about how things turned out, she said a small prayer. If the God she learned of really existed, He would grant her this one request she had. She turned and left the room.
    “Paxton wait!” Jonathan’s voice rang out.
    She ignored him and started down the hallway
    “Paxton!” He shouted down the hall.
    She knew she shouldn’t have come. It was a mistake. She decided to go to her mother’s house even though it was the one place she didn’t want to be at. She wasn’t ready to deal with her mother but she couldn’t face the cabin by herself right now.
    ***
    Paxton arrived at her mother’s house. She climbed out of the cab. The cab driver helped her unload her bag. She tipped him and turned to face the house. She saw her mother, Jenny, peer out of the window. The look on her face said she was torn about seeing her own daughter in the driveway, newly released out of a mental facility. Paxton braced herself as she walked up to the door.
    “How is he?” Jenny asked as she opened the door for Paxton.
    “He’ll live.”
    “You can take your things in your old room. Why don’t you go down and settle in. I will make some tea. Are you hungry?”
    “Yes, anything is fine. Let me know when it’s done?” Paxton’s voice was cold. She just wanted to get away from her mother at the moment.
    “I will.” Jenny kissed Paxton on her forehead but to Paxton it felt like it was forced, like she really didn’t care if Paxton was there or not.
    Paxton headed down to her room. Memories came flooding back to her. It was exactly as she left it before she moved out. She ran her fingers along her dresser, feeling the frames of the pictures she left there. She stared at them. They were pictures of her and her father before he passed, her and Ella, and pictures of her best friends from high school. She then moved to her bed, running her hand along the comforter as she walked beside it. It was as smooth and soft as she remembered it to be. She then decided to see if anything else changed in the basement.
    She walked over to the spare bedroom down there. Her mother redecorated this room. There was a new bedroom suit in it. It looked like a room cut out of a magazine. Everything was coordinated and looked amazing. She then moved on to Ella’s room.  She paused at the door and held her breath for a moment. She wondered if her mother moved on and redecorated Ella’s room. She hoped her mother was holding on to the memory of Ella like she did with Paxton’s room.
    She cracked open the door and let out the breath she was holding. She swung the