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We were the last people at her coffin, and the pallbearers watched us I’d already taken too ently steered Milo away fro that was the last time I’d ever see her

Milo and I had almost made it to our seats at the back of the church, and I saw so that made my heart stop Milo had his head bowed, but I looked up to make sure ouldn’t pass our pew

Our mother stood in the middle of the aisle a few feet in front of us

I stopped short, and Milo lifted his head Her ood look at Milo

We had both changed since we’d become vampires, but his was far more drastic He’d been sixteen when he turned, but thanks to his pudgy cheeks and large brown eyes, he’d always appeared younger With the transforleaned off his baby fat

Moed several years, looking like he was eighteen or nineteen now

Since we’d turned, we’d done everything in our power to cut ties with our mother Milo still called her on the phone sometimes, but she couldn’t see us It would be much easier for her if she went on with her life without knoe were

For the funeral, Mom’s hair was still a frizzy arht red lipstick and heavy eyeliner

"Milo?" Mom leaned in towards us, like she didn’t believe what she was seeing

"Hi, Mohter His heart hammered in his chest, and so did mine

"Is that really you?" She reached out as if she ot close, she let it fall to the side and just stared at hiht… You look so much like your father" Mom never talked about our father, except occasionally to say that he had done nothing to help take us

"Thanks?" Milo replied uncertainly

Behind us, they had closed the casket and started wheeling it out to the hearse The funeral had officially ended, so everyone filtered out around us, but we didn’tith you" Mo at Milo

"Uh, yeah," Milo fu a private school in New York, but that was a lie to explain his sudden absence She thought I had taken off to live with Jack, and that was true

"You’ve really grown" Her voice cracked "You both have You look really good, Alice You’ve grown up into fine young adults" A thin smile spread out across her face "You did blossom without uilt

"When did you get in?" Mo that he’d flown in from New York for the funeral