Her pain filled the room like a physical entity, and as I watched, she grabbed the counter, her head bowing as she began to sob.

Unable to stay away a moment longer, I rushed across the space that separated us and hugged her from behind. It felt so good to hug my mom again, it brought tears to my eyes. Nothing in the world was better than being hugged by the ones who loved you most, and while I had reason to question Ryan’s love now, I would never doubt Mom’s.

Her hands covered mine. “I-I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to start crying again. I just… This was her favorite.”

“It still is,” I murmured softly, my tone teasing, praying I didn’t freak her out or scare her. “I hope you didn’t get it all soggy from all those tears.”

She turned to a block of ice in my arms. Slowly, as if she were the one afraid of scaring one of us, she turned. I eased my hold but kept my arm around her in case she fainted.

Her blue eyes drank in the sight of me even as her chin wobbled. “Nova?” she breathed my name. “Nova?” Her hands touched my arms then my face. “Y-you’re real?”

I covered one of her hands with my own, pressing it closer, savoring her soft touch. “I’m real, Mom. I’m here and very, very much alive.”

“Then this is another dream,” she said, her face filling with so much sadness, it broke my heart.

Needing to convince her she was awake, I pinched the back of her hand.

“Ouch!” she squawked, jerking her hand away from my cheek. But then reality hit her, that she was actually standing there—and so was I. More tears filled her eyes. “Nova! Oh my God, how are you here? Wait, I don’t care. I’m just s-so happy to see you.”

“It’s a long story,” I said with a small smile. “And I don’t really have time at the moment to explain everything.”

“This is crazy, Nova. Everyone said you were dead. I didn’t want to believe it. I couldn’t at first. But then Ryan convinced me.” She was touching my face, my arms, anywhere she could reach, running her hands over me as if needing to prove to herself over and over again that I was alive and whole. “No one else but him could make me understand that you were gone. Especially after that call…” Her voice faded, and a look of horror filled her eyes. “That really was you who called, wasn’t it?”

I hesitated, not wanting to cause her more distress, but unable to lie to her, I finally nodded.

“Oh, dear lord.” She pressed her hand to her mouth. “Baby, I’m so sorry. Your dad… They said it was Sheena O’Brion playing games. That it was probably a voice app that made her sound just like you somehow.”

“No, it was me. I’ve been in Colombia with Cali this whole time.”