crossed Honora' s face, but it w

she said, her tone softening just enough to sound like a threat. "But there are co

No

it hung in the air betwe

up. They got out, their faces a mixt

. "Come home. We' ll take care of you, but you

o," Jesse

his mother cried. "Afte

ace, the dark circles under his eyes. For the fi

e sharp. She grabbed his arm.

He was too weak to fight her. He let her lead

ow: grand, opulent, and suffocating. Aloysius was waiting in t

atic sob and stumbled backward. "He' s ba

Aloysius' s side. She glared at Jesse. "Now, Jesse. Kneel and a

. His legs felt weak,

ysius. "He' s the one who has been living my life for eight y

ly, crossed Aloysius' s face bef

ius wailed. "He'

at Jesse, grabbing his shoulders and trying to force hi

e, but before they could hit the marb

" She looked at Jesse, her expression a complex mask of anger a

lway. "Your room is down there

ear. He was a serv

o his small, bare room. He was hold

sius said, his voice dripping with false

s smug face. He took the pile and, without a word,

clutching his arm as if he'

saw Aloysius feigning injury, saw the clothes on the f

belt that was hanging

e seethed, and she brought the

her cracked against his thin shirt

didn'

istant pressure. The tumor was growing, pressing on his spinal cord, severing

ven flinch. He just stood there,

stopped, the belt held in mid-air. "

n' t a

slightly. "Don' t push me." She threw the belt on the

small, cracked mirror. He couldn' t feel them, but he could see

ed in sweat. Through the haze of his delirium, he saw a figure

dim light, her expression unguarded an

a," he

as if startled

s voice barely audible. "Let me go

n her eyes was extinguished, repl

can' t die. Who will atone for what you di

t the room, slamming

his answer. There would be no