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“I didn’t want what happened to me to happen to you,“ she says, pacing around in the small sunroom. She gives me a sideway glance, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “When I realized I could call in experts who would be able to stop this from happening, of course I jumped on it.“
“I don’t think they stopped anything, Mom.“
“I think you’re right, baby,“ she says. “But you’re here, and they clearly bought us time. Which might be all we need.“
I swallow. “How can you know?“
“I don’t,“ she’s the one leaning against the door now, looking at me with concern. “All we have is hope.“
MISHA
We stand around the rental car we drove from Orlando, all of us leaning against it. We’re a couple of hours north of the city and it’s still hot and humid as fuck. This feels even more humid than Orlando, which didn’t feel possible when we were there. The air is so thick I feel like I might choke on my own breath. I don’t know if that’s the humidity or how worried I am. The longer I look at the house, the doors closed, the more I feel like I’m going to just stop breathing.
It doesn’t make a lot of sense. I’m ninety-five percent Trine could take her mother in hand-to-hand combat. And, in any case, she probably won’t need to. People don’t just fist fight.
Woods leans on the backdoor of the car next to me, his head tilted so he’s looking at me. He’s wearing darkened lenses over his glasses so it looks like he’s just wearing sunglasses, but I don’t have to see his eyes to know that he’s staring at me.
“What?“ I ask.
“Trine can take care of herself. “
“I didn’t say she couldn’t.“
“You didn’t have to say anything,“ he says. “Plus, she’s not in danger. Obviously I didn’t do a thorough psychological evaluation of Aura Dawes, but from the time we spoke to her, she seems to be of sound mind. If she was struggling as much as Trine said she was, that would’ve been obvious.“
“Let’ssay you’re right,“ Salinas says. “Even if she wasn’t struggling as much as before, she could still be struggling, right? Maybe over the years she’s just learned to be better at masking it.“
“That’s always a possibility. I wouldn’t dismiss it,“ Woods replies. He’s used to us challenging him, but there’s an edge to his voice that isn’t normally present. We’re all protective of her and it doesn’t take a genius to realize that Rei resents the implicit accusation that he doesn’t want to look after her. “I don’t think she’s in imminent danger, though. Clearly, Aura Dawes believes in possession. She truly thinks that this is all real. Trine wants clarity. Her mother won’t physically hurt her.“
“She might be upset,“ Father Salinas says, straightening up as we all look at the house.
“She can be upset,“ Woods replies. “That’s normal. If she wasn’t upset, I’d be worried about her.“
“What about scarred?“ I ask him. “Did you ever think that might be the problem?“
“I’d rather she’s scarred and alive than keeping herself awake while her mind withers,“ Woods says, getting slightly closer to me, his hands fists at his sides. “At least, if she’s scarred, we can help fix that. If we don’t help her in time…“
“Both of you, stop it,“ Salinas says, rolling his eyes as he takes a step away from us. “I swear to God. I don’t know what’s gotten into you two lately, but you’re normally not this bad.“
Woods turns to look at him, his eyes narrowing. “Canyou swear to God?“
Salinas rolls his eyes as I laugh.
“Look, we’re obviously all worried about her,“ Salinas says, cracking a smile. “But we can’t stay here and bicker. We just have to wait and…I don’t know, support her, no matter what happens.“
“Right. And we can help her before she’s scarred,“ Woods says. “We’re professionally equipped for it.“
I look at the house. It’s completely still outside except for the soft sway of the breeze, tree branches moving overhead. From out here, we can’t hear the conversation that Trine is having with her mother, and that puts me on edge.
I want to know.
I need to.
Because these two might not get it, but I do. Just spending time in the same room as my estranged parents has always made me feel unsafe and I’m a full-grown fucking man. Trine is strong, and she’s smart, but she’s also young and she hasn’t been dealing with this for that long.
I don’t really talk much about my parents to these two, mostly because there’s no need, but they’re both perceptive people. I don’t want to insist upon this, but I think they don’t realize how harmful it could be.
Especially if she pretends she’s going to help and then she doesn’t.
