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At the sound of her mother’s voice, Elena turned around and faced her. Skylar could almost feel Elena’s hesitation about whether to go to Adele or not. The latter won out, at least for now.

“Hey, Mom. How’s he doing?”

Skylar could tell more by what Adele didn’t say than what she did say. It was clear that Felix wasn’t doing well, and Skylar’s heart broke. Although Elena was never close to her parents, they were still her parents. They were family, no matter how they might feel about her now.

“He’s stable. The doctors,” her voice cracked, “they’ll know more if he wakes up.”

“If?”

Adele nodded. “It was a massive heart attack, Elena. They said it’s a miracle he lived long enough to make it to the hospital.”

Elena gripped tighter onto Skylar’s hand.

“Come on inside. He’s still in a coma, but the doctors say he can hear us.”

“I don’t know.”

She looked at Skylar as if she had any insight on what she should do. But Skylar didn’t know. If it was her dad, Skylar would have already been by his bedside. However, Elena didn’t have that same relationship with Felix. Skylar tenderly tucked Elena’s hair behind her ear.

“I’ll go with you if you want.”

Elena nodded, and they followed Adele back into the hospital and up to the third floor. Skylar could feel Adele’s judging eyes on them and their intertwined fingers. But Skylar didn’t care. She wasn’t ashamed to show Adele that she truly loved her daughter.

“He’s in here. Marco, Margo, Juan, and Julien were here earlier and will be back tomorrow, so you can have the room to yourself.” Adele looked Skylar up and down as her eyes narrowed slightly. “Maybe you could give her a moment alone.”

“I’ll do what Elena needs.” Skylar was determined to stand her ground against Adele. It was clear Adele wasn’t used to that, and she looked at Elena to back her up.

As soon as Elena looked at her with sad eyes, Skylar knew she wanted to be alone with her father but didn’t want to say that. Skylar pulled Elena into another hug, holding her tight as she placed a kiss on her forehead.

“I’ll be right here.”

“Thank you,” Elena whispered as she kissed Skylar on the lips. It was the first time they’d ever kissed in front of Adele, and Skylar could only imagine the look of disappointment that was aimed at her. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

She watched Elena walk into the room and close the door behind her. Skylar expected to see an angry look on Adele’s face when she turned around, but instead, it was something different.

“You love my daughter?”

Skylar couldn’t tell if it was a statement or a question. She nodded. “I do, very much.”

“Hmm.” Adele walked over to a vinyl chair against the wall and sat. Skylar waited for a beat before taking a seat a few chairs down from her.

The silence in the hallway was the loudest Skylar had ever heard. Making small talk with Adele seemed pointless. How could she make light conversation while her husband was in critical condition down the hall and her daughter’s gay lover was sitting next to her?

Leaning her head back against the wall, Skylar closed her eyes. Skylar had been up for too long and was in dire need of sleep. Or, at the very least, a nap. She was just about to drift off when Adele spoke up.

“I know that Elena has probably told you about what happened.”

Skylar was wide awake now and turned her attention and body toward Adele.

“We raised Elena differently than this. All of my children but Elena have followed Felix and me in the faith. But Elena has always marched to the beat of her own drum.” Adele laughed sadly. “Literally, I suppose. When she first told us she was in a band, I thought it was a phase. Then Maine Event hit it big, and I thought she’d come back to us once it had run its course.”

A nurse walked back, and Adele waited until she passed to continue.

“I thought when the band broke up, and she settled down with Peter that she would finally start living the life we had planned for her since she was a baby.”

Skylar cleared her throat. “Respectfully, Adele, Elena’s life is hers to live. Not yours.”