DRAMA NOVEL ONLINE Chapter My CEO 207
207 Finding a Way Forwardi
207 Finding a Way Forward (Winona)
The hospital cafeteria is a far cry from a trendy café, but the coffee is good and, actually, the breakfast offerings look okay too. I sit at a small table by a window waiting to see if Cass turns up. Cass needs to be the driving force behind how we go about saying goodbye to Mom.
Hopefully she's ready to see me. I don't blame her for being so angry and lashing out yesterday.
Cass should be here any minute if she's decided to come. I'll wait a little, of course. Jayden's with Ashlyn, talking to the doctors about the next steps for them all in regard to the baby.
I want to be with him, but Cass needs me too, and right now, I need to focus on her. Then I'll go talk to Jayden.
The door to the cafeteria swings open, and I see Cass walk in, her shoulders hunched, her face pale and drawn. I let out a sigh of relief, she's here.
I wave to her, and she spots me, hesitating for a moment before she makes her way to the table. She slides into the chair across from me, not meeting my eyes.
"Hey," I say softly.
"Hey," she mutters, staring down at the table.
I don't push her. Instead, I let the silence stretch between us, giving her the space to gather her thoughts. Finally, she looks up, her eyes red and swollen from crying.
"Cass, this is hard. I mean it's hard for me, but it is so much harder for you. I get that. I want to support you in what you want next for Mom. I don't want to try and make these decisions for you. But the hospital. needs to know what the next step is."
"I don't know what to do now," she admits, her voice small, fragile.."Mom's gone, and they... they just took her away. I don't know what happens next."
"Where have you been all night?"
She shrugs. "Just floating around here."
"You could have called me to come get you."
"After all the awful things I said yesterday, I didn't think I'd better.
I place my hand over hers. "Know this, there is nothing you can say that will ever make me not turn up for
you."
Her eyes shimmer with tears.
"First, we have some breakfast because I haven't eaten either since yesterday. It might just be the starvation but the food in here smells great." I give her a small smile. "I'm not sure I can eat."
"Let's try. Then we can talk about your options with regards to Mom, I want you to have the decisions.
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07 Finding a Way Forward
here. It's your place to decide, if you want to, not mine
She nods. "Okay. I just don't know where to stort."
"With breakfast."
We both get up and grab a tray and slide it along to choose some hot food. There's actually eggs, bacon, pancakes, syrup. I ask for those and Cass chooses some fruit salad, yogurt and muesli. We sit again and I eat about half. "Well, that does feel better."
She nods and pushes her bowl away with a little left over. "So what does happen now? I've never dealt with... death before."
My heart clenches at the raw pain in her voice. I reach across the table and take her hand in mine, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"First, decide on a funeral home," I say, keeping my tone as gentle as possible. "The hospital needs to know where to release Mom's body. I know this is hard, it's the first step."
talk Cass flinches at the words, and I feel a pang of guilt for being so blunt. But there's no easy way to about this. "Once they have Mom there, you need to talk to them about how you'd like a service to go, or or cremation." even if you want a service and what you'd prefer happens to her body. I mean bu
"I don't know what she would have wanted," Cass says, her voice cracking. "I don't know what I want for
her."
"I'm here to help you figure it out. We all are," I reassure her. "You don't have to do it alone. You'll find a way to say goodbye to Mom, in a way that feels right for you."
Cass nods, tears filling her eyes again. She quickly wipes them away, but not before one escapes and rolls down her cheek. "I just... I just want her back," she whispers, her voice breaking
"I know," I say, my own voice thick with emotion. "I do too,"
We sit there in silence for a while, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Finally, I take a deep breath and
say,
"I think it's best if we stay at Jayden's penthouse for now."
"Okay."
"I don't feel good about going back to the townhouse after everything that happened there. They're still gathering forensic evidence, and a cleanup needs to be done."
Cass looks at me, a mix of emotions flashing across her face. "But what about Mom's things? She did get a few treasures since we've been here."
"We'll take care of it," I say, squeezing her hand again. "Once things are settled, we can go back and sort through everything. But right now, I think it's best if we stay somewhere that isn't a constant reminder of what you walked in on." Cass nods slowly, her expression conflicted. "Okay," she whispers. "I guess that makes sense."
"Anne is with Abby now," I tell her. "She's here to help us."
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207 Finding a Way Forward
"Anne is the foster Mom I went to. She's been by my side ever since. Now she's helping two kids called Bobby and Sarah because they've had some traumatic life events and also had time living with Steve." "Okay."
"I trust Anne with my life, with Abby's life. You can too, promise you that."
Cass nods, her shoulders slumping as she finally lets herself relax, if only a little. "I'm just... I'm so tired, Winona. I don't know if I have the strength to keep going."
"You do," I say firmly, my voice leaving no room for doubt. "You're stronger than you think, Cass. You are the daughter of a very strong woman. You got this."
Cass looks at me, and for the first time since Mom's death, I see a glimmer of hope in her eyes. It's faint, barely there, but it's something. And right now, that's enough. "Okay," she says, her voice steadier now. "Okay, Let's do this."
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