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She didn’t speak when she climbed out.
Not when she opened Dove’s door and pulled her out. Everything slowed as she raised her left arm and pointed a gun at Dove, who was scrambling across the dirt ground.
“Mom?” Dove whimpered.
She flicked off the safety and cocked the gun. My mouth couldn’t move. I couldn’t scream or yell. Everything went into slow motion. Bang! Bang! Bang-Bang! I screamed so loud my chest squeezed as blood splattered all over my mother’s white dress. Tears poured out of me as my heart broke, but I was already reaching for the door handle to run. The door swung open as I sprinted forward toward the house that I once called home. Past the swing that King and I played on. King. I burst into tears as my battered soul craved his presence. I needed him to latch onto for safety. Bang! Bang! Shots fired from behind me as bullets flew past me into the fence in front. I decided to run for the driveway at the front of the house, as it’s not that far until you hit the main road or a neighbor’s house. The fires stopped and my ears started ringing as pain ripped through me. I didn’t know if I had been shot or if the fact I just lost my twin sister had affected me so severely, but I kept running. My mouth wouldn’t move, the words lodged in my throat at what I just saw. My father’s Range Rover skidded to a stop in front of me. He ripped open the passenger door and came to me, his face falling as he dropped to his knees in front of me. “Perse, what happened?”
The passenger door opened and Ashley, Keaton’s mom, came sprinting out. When she saw me, her lips trembled. “What’s happened?” Her eyes flew over my shoulder. She squared her stance and her hand came to mine, pulling me behind her body to shield me.
“What have you done, you crazy fucking bitch!” Ashley screamed. “I’m going to fucking ruin you!”
My father pointed to the SUV. “Ash, put her in the car, please. I need to handle this.”
“No, Klaus. I will not leave you here with this creature! Where is Dove?” Ashley directed down the driveway again. She always could tell my sister and me apart.
I couldn’t turn around to see who she’s talking to.
I couldn’t speak.
My body was convulsing. My lips were trembling.
I wanted King.
I needed King.
“De—” I managed to say, a notch above a whisper, but when I tried to force the rest of the words out, my mouth snapped closed. I never wanted to speak again. It would have only reminded me of my sister. We had the same voice, the same cry, and the same scream—“Mom?” The memory gnawed at my brain, stabbing it with a sharp knife and twisting it until everything turned numb.
Everything silenced, and I broke out into sobs, making my way into the car. I slammed the door closed and locked the doors, curling into a ball.
My sister was dead.
My twin sister was dead.
My mother murdered her and then tried to kill me.
A door opened and closed, just as I heard Ashley’s voice whisper, “It’s going to be okay, Perse. We will fix this and make it better.”
I fly off the sofa, my skin drenched in sweat. “She—she—” My legs tremble as I fall to the ground. My hands cover my face as I feel thick arms wrap around my body.
“I’m so fucking sorry.” I hear King’s voice behind me, his lips on the back of my head. I jump out of his grasp as quickly as he put me there, spinning around and pinning him with a filthy stare.
“Where were you?” I scream so loud everyone silences.
King runs his hand over his mouth, his eyes on me. “We didn’t know, P. Mom and Dad didn’t know you were going there. Jessika, she set it all up.”
I run my hands over my arms. “I’ve been living a lie. I stole her life.”
“Truth,” Kohen says, walking into the sitting room with a bottle of whiskey dangling between his fingers.
“I’m sorry, Kohen,” I whisper, but he ignores me.
“You’re sorry?” Kohen chuckles, shaking his head while he drops down onto the Lazy Boy.
“Kohen,” King warns.
“Nah-uh.” Kohen chuckles, swiping the dark eyeliner from beneath his eyes. “You lost a sister that day, but I lost my sanity.”
I believed him. All of the memories are in vivid detail in my head. Every single Christmas, every single argument King and I had.
“I thought you thought she was alive and I was dead?” I ask softly.
Kohen shuts down, his eyes turning on King. “No. I thought you were both dead. Until tonight.”
“I took you to see Keres after that,” a soft voice says from the entryway, and when I look up to find it, I notice the strawberry-blonde hair naturally around her collarbone. The dark green eyes that glisten with unshed tears. The small face and pixie nose. Ashley. She steps forward, closer, but remaining a safe distance away from me. “He worked his voodoo with you and made me swear to not say anything to anyone. We agreed for your safety that we would say you both died.” The first tear falls as she swipes it away angrily. “I thought we agreed and had a plan.”
