Chapter 4

Jocelyn's POV

I lay on a narrow motel bed and booked a flight to Livron for three days later. Before I left, I wanted to visit the cemetery to see Mom one last time. There was so much I wanted to tell her.

Early the next morning, I brought a bouquet of daffodils—Mom's favorite when she was alive—to the cemetery. But when I reached her grave, every drop of blood in my body seemed to freeze.

Someone had splattered animal blood all over Mom's headstone. "Like mother, like daughter" and "Homewrecker, drop dead" were scrawled across the front and back of the stone.

I dropped to my knees and started scrubbing at the words. My fingers were rubbed raw and bleeding, but those insults refused to go away, almost as if they'd been etched onto the stone.

"Like the gift I got you?"

Mandy sauntered over with a bright, sugary smile. She crossed her legs and sat on Mom's headstone like it was a park bench.

"What are you staring at? Aren't you gonna get over here and thank me? You have no idea how much the people online hate you and your mom. If they could, they'd smash this grave to pieces. I came up with this compromise. They get to blow off steam, and your mom's headstone stays in one piece."

Images of strangers trampling all over Mom's grave played on loop in my head. I snapped and slapped Mandy across the face.

The next second, a strong hand yanked me back.

"Jocelyn, Mandy came here out of the goodness of her heart to pay her respects to your mother. What gives you the right to hit her?" Calvin was furious as his palm cracked across my cheek. "Mrs. Stanton was the kindest woman. If she could see how vicious you've become, she'd never rest in peace!"

I lifted my head, forcing myself to hold it high despite the throbbing in my swollen cheek. I stared him down.

When he saw the angry redness on my face, he froze for a split second. He glanced back at Mom's grave, and whatever he'd been about to say caught in my throat.

After a moment, he let out a heavy sigh, and his tone softened slightly. "Mandy's the straightforward type. She wouldn't stoop to doing something this low. It had to be those people online. I'll have someone clean your mom's headstone properly, but you're definitely in the wrong for hitting Mandy. Apologize to her."

I stared at him, then suddenly laughed until my eyes blurred with tears.

Three years ago, he'd gotten into a car accident, and Mom had been the only one with a matching blood type. She'd hidden her medical condition and ignored the doctor's warnings to donate blood to him. That was the only reason he'd survived.

He'd said he would treat Mom like his own mother from then on. Yet now, he stood by and watched Mandy desecrate Mom's grave without so much as a single word of criticism for her. Instead, he expected me to apologize to the woman who'd humiliated Mom.

Mandy kicked Mom's tombstone viciously, then shot me a taunting look. "Your mom had no manners, so she raised you to be just as crude. Since she failed, I'll teach you some proper etiquette right to her face!"

As I stared at her smug face, the boiling hatred I'd been holding back spilled over. I snapped and launched myself at her, wrapping my fingers around her throat.

"Jocelyn, are you insane?" Calvin roared as he rushed over and shoved me away. He scooped Mandy into his arms and sped off in the car straight for the hospital.

My body whipped backward, and the back of my head slammed hard against the cold, unyielding tombstone. White-hot pain exploded, and my vision went black. I passed out.

…

Third-Person POV

After getting Mandy to the hospital, Calvin turned to leave.

Mandy grabbed his arm, looking wounded. "Come on, dude. Are you just gonna dump me here all by myself?"

She paused, biting her lip. "She was just throwing a tantrum to catch your attention. Didn't you say you would—"

Calvin didn't bother listening to the rest. He shook her off and walked out.

He floored it all the way back to the cemetery. For some reason, a heavy, inexplicable panic kept churning in his chest, leaving him barely able to breathe.

When he finally reached the cemetery, he practically sprinted toward Jocelyn's mother's tombstone. All he found was a mess on the ground and a pool of fresh blood.

Only then did a hazy memory surge—he seemed to have shoved Jocelyn straight into the tombstone earlier. This blood belonged to her.

His heart slammed against his ribs as he fumbled to call her. He dialed again and again, but no one picked up.

A second later, as if reality had finally hit him, he spun around and tore off toward the cemetery gates like a madman.