“Like me, the pregnancy was an accident. Also like me, she kept it a secret for as long as she could. Michael found out when she was five months along. He was livid. He still wanted her but The Council forbade it. I believe the only reason he didn’t kill her and the baby is because The Council protected her. They looked at her child as just another one to add to their sick games.”
Her hands start shaking in her lap, and I reach over and grab one. She releases some of the tension.
“When you were born, Macy and Aiden were able to fight The Council for a year and a half before they came for you. It broke them. Macy was released from The Gathering because of her age, but she was forced to let their son take part. Dale and I watched our little girl wither away in pain because there was nothing we could do. When Daisy was born a few years later, a new light formed in her eyes. Daisy was two months old when her and Aiden attempted to leave with you both in the middle of the night. They never told Dale and me what they had planned, because I think they worried what would happen to us if they were ever caught, but we knew they were up to something. Michael caught them. The Council sentenced them to death, because they couldn’t chance them eventually getting away. Two days later, they were found dead in their bed. Aiden with his throat slit and Macy with a bullet to her head. She was raped before she
was killed.”
Blinding fury makes me so fucking glad that Leland is still alive, and now very impatient to get to him. I close my eyes and count to ten to rein in the need to haul ass to the hunting lodge and do what should have been done years ago.
When I open my eyes, they lock on Mae. Her eyes are red and there’re tears on her lashes, but anger lurks in her dark gaze and stains her cheeks. She lost a lot at the hands of Leland.
“Why weren’t me and Daisy given to you and Dale? You were our grandparents. It would have been the logical choice.”
“Because they knew if we had you and Daisy, we’d try to escape. As long as the Bentons had control over you, they had control over us. They didn’t even need to threaten us with our lives, or even yours. They knew we’d never leave without you both.”
Thinking back to that time, I remember Mae and Dale were always in the background in some way or another. At the time, I didn’t find it odd that they were always there. Every birthday, they gave Daisy and I a present. Every Christmas, the same thing. Every event in school they were there. It’s not until now I realize that it was always done away from our parents.
Emotions clog my throat at the loss of so much.
“After we left that night, why didn’t you tell me?”
Her eyes drop from mine and move to the window across the room. “You were going through so much. Everything was different for you. I didn’t want to add more changes. And when you got older—” She moves her gaze back to me, more tears hanging from her eyelids. “—I was so scared you wouldn’t understand. I was worried you would be angry and hate me. I lost my daughter and granddaughter. I couldn’t lose my grandson too.” She flips her hand over so hers is now clutching mine in a surprisingly tight grip. “I’m so sorry we kept this from you, Trouble, and I’m sorry you never got to know your real mother and father.”
She pulls a chain with a locket I’ve never seen before out from underneath her shirt. She slips it over her head and opens the locket.
“It’s been years since I’ve worn this. It was too much of a painful reminder of what I lost, but I want you to have it now.”
Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I take the locket from her hands and look at the picture on the right first. It’s of me and Daisy. She couldn’t have been more than a few days old, which made me three. I’m sitting and looking down at Rella in my arms, a look of awe on my chubby face.
My eyes move to the picture on the left. It’s of a woman with brown hair and blue eyes, the same as mine, and a man with blond hair. The faces are close together as they smile into the camera.
“Is this them?” I ask, then clear my throat when it cracks at the end.
Mae’s finger appears in my line of sight and she gently strokes over the picture of the man and woman.
“That’s my Macy and her Aiden. You look like them both.”
I tear my eyes away from the locket. “Do you have more pictures of them?”
She smiles so big it makes her appear ten years younger. “I do. They’re in the attic. Just let me know when you want them, and we’ll go get them together.”
I nod and look back to the locket.
“I can’t take this, Mae. This is yours. I would like some pictures though.”
I try to give it back to her, but she pushes my hand away. “No, Trouble. That locket belongs to you. It was Macy’s, and I know she would want you to have it.”
Blowing out a deep breath, I lift the chain over my head and tuck the locket under my shirt. I feel the cool metal against my chest, right over my heart. I don’t wear jewelry, so it should feel weird having something around my neck, but this piece doesn’t. It feels right, like being around my neck is where it belongs.
“Are we okay? Can you ever forgive me?” Mae asks, a note of vulnerability in her tone.
I hate that she sounds so unsure. She’s been through hell and back multiple times, for years at a time. Mae is normally strong, one of the strongest women I know. For her to sound insecure doesn’t sit well with me. Despite the secrets she’s kept, and it hurting like a bitch, I’m not sure there’s anything I wouldn’t forgive her for. She may be my grandmother, but she’s been my mother in every way that counts.
I get up and pull her with me, straight into my arms. Her grey hair tickles my chin when her face lands against my chest.
“I hate that you kept this from me, but I guess I understand why you did. I forgive you, Mae, and we’re definitely okay.”
I hold her small body up when she sags against me.