“Like you said, she had issues. You could have helped her instead of killing her. She was still my mother.”
“At that time, my father was still alive and actively trying to kill me. Damon and I hadn’t talked in a long time. I was alone and bitter. I had no one, and then you came along. This little helpless human who was a part of me, who needed not only to be protected but also something I wasn’t sure I could ever give again… love.”
“That still doesn’t explain why Tia is dead.”
“I took you home and had the doctor come and look at you. You were in bad shape, Q. Malnourished, dehydrated, and the rash was so bad it got infected. You almost died, and while you were fighting for your life because of her neglect, Tia kept trying to reach me, sending me threatening messages. But it was always about the money; not once did she ask how you were or if she could see you. I ignored her until I couldn’t any longer. She somehow got onto the property and into the house… that’s when I killed her.”
For a moment, silence blankets the room as I process everything he just told me. I don’t know what to feel. Anger, sadness, and guilt? Logically, I know none of this is my fault, but if I was never born, she might have still been alive.
“Don’t grieve for her, Q. She doesn’t deserve it. She was never your mom—Ella is. Ella loved you like a mother should from the first time she held you. I saw it in her eyes then, the fierce determination to protect you at all costs. Ella never looked at you any other way. She always knew you were supposed to be her son.”
“This has nothing to do with mom, I know she loves me, and I don’t love her any differently now that I know she didn’t give birth to me. I’m angry because you lied to me, you hid this from me, even went out of your way to make it disappear. I don’t know if I can trust you again, and I don’t know if I can ever forgive you for it.”
I push myself up to stand. My limbs feel heavier than before, as if all this new knowledge is wearing me down physically. I imagined punching my father, fighting him, maybe even winning because I was so angry. Now, I simply feel drained and beyond exhausted.
“I hope you can,” my dad says quietly as I leave the room.
I walk back to my room in a daze and flop onto my bed. Closing my eyes, I try to make sense of everything I learned, but nothing fits into what I knew before. It’s as if my whole life needs to be rewritten.
The problem is, I don’t know what the new storyline will look like.
35
ASPEN
Corium becomes a haunted house when there aren’t any students roaming the halls. I won’t lie, the silence is eerie but also comforting. Almost everyone left yesterday, leaving behind those that weren’t wanted by their families back home during the holidays. I can’t imagine there are many of us here. Even criminals celebrate the holidays together.
That word leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I’m angry that my mother refused to let me come home. She hasn’t seen me in months and rarely calls to check in on me. It really wasn’t a surprise that she didn’t want me there, but it didn’t lessen the sting.
There’s a knock at the door, and I startle, my eyes darting to it. Quinton’s gone, and I’m pretty sure Brittney is hiding somewhere. With that knowledge, I stare at the door and wait for the person on the other side to go away. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen.
The knocking continues, and a moment later, Brittney’s voice filters through the door. “Open up, Aspen! I know you’re in there.”
A smile appears on my lips, and I toss the covers back and rush from the bed, damn near tripping over my own feet. I pull the door open and wrap both arms around her, holding her tight to my chest. I squeeze her tight, thankful that she didn’t have to leave or go into hiding.
“I was worried sick about you,” I say, releasing her before taking a step back.
She frowns. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. I needed Phoenix to think I left Corium.”
I should’ve known it had something to do with that terrible ex of hers. My eyes drift down to her hand, where I see a plastic bag dangling between her fingers.
“Lunch?”
Her gaze follows mine. “Yes, I figured I could explain everything, and we could eat lunch together.”
I usher her in and close the door, sealing us inside the room. She pulls two plastic containers from the bag, passing one to me, as well as a fork. I grab a couple of bottled waters that I keep in the mini-fridge and hand her one. She thanks me, and then we sit side by side on the bed. The smell of Chinese food wafts into my nostrils, and my mouth salivates.