AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I can’t believe it. We survived. But are we whole?
A wave of that white hot pain hits me, and I fall into a black oblivion.
thirty-four
Missy
I sit in the white room and glare at the woman in front of me. To her credit, she looks embarrassed and ashamed of herself. The lecture I got from Oma returns to poke holes in my anger. I rub my face and then straighten the crisp white sheets from the hospital bed I’m currently enthroned on.
“Ava, I’m waiting.” The words come out rough. My throat is hoarse from the screaming I can’t remember doing. It took a couple hours for the hospital’s drugs to counteract the heat-inducing one I’d been giving. Several hours that I don’t ever want to repeat.
“I’m sorry.” Ava whispers. Her eyes fill with tears, and she laces her fingers together and twists until they turn white. There are dark shadows under her eyes and her hair is standing at strange ends like she keeps running her fingers through it. Her nails are bitten to the point of bleeding, and I can’t help but feel sorry for her.
I narrow my eyes and fold my arms under my breasts. I flick a glance at the chair beside me where a severely injured and bruised Kandi sits, tension pouring off her so thick it’s choking the air. She’s still wearing the hospital gown and is rocking the wheel chair like it’s a throne. But just looking at the swollen, bruised flesh makes me feel nauseous. I don’t know how she’s up and functioning. She promises it looks worse than it feels, but I’m not sure I believe her. Despite that, her muscles are tense, and I know the pain she can inflict, injured or not. Ava is in big trouble right now and not from me.
“I’m sorry. I tried so hard to do the right thing. I was desperate. But they had my nephew. I only gave them scraps, and most of the time, info I knew was wrong. I tried to protect you. And I went to Sven as soon as the bosses entered the mansion and told him everything.”
I sigh heavily and close my eyes. The shift of movement has me looking next to me. Kandi is glaring hard at Ava, but she lifts a hand to the bed and steals a handful of my gummy worms.
I bite my lip in an effort not to giggle.
“I have to forgive you. Because I want to forgive Trin. Eventually. It’s going to take time. But I accept your apology.” I sniff hard. “I understand why you did it. Thank you for saving us in the end.”
Ava bursts into tears.
Kandi snorts and shakes her head. “You owe me now. If you’re still working for Raptore, you’re my bitch until I decide otherwise.”
I wince and almost feel sorry for Ava. But I don’t think Kandi hates her as much as she wants to. The training will be rigorous, but in the end, Ava will be able to protect herself and have a family who she’ll be able to go to for help.
Ava and Kandi leave not long after, and finally, my family comes in. I’ve been refusing to see them for three days. But I can’t put it off forever, and I want to get it over and done with. Sven gives me a long look from where he stands near the door. We’d developed this secret eye language. He’s asking me if I really want to do this, he can kick them out. No one needs to know it’s me. After a moment, he relaxes and gives me a tight nod. He will be here if I need him. He’s such a good guy, we owe him a lot. Our resident Raven backed up everything and sent it to the police before he deleted all the files. He also had a secondary comm set up just in case because he’s a paranoid and brilliant man. And a hero. Our hero.
I’m going to have words with Darion to give him a raise. Or seven.
Elise comes in first and crawls up on the bed to lie beside me, clinging to me tightly while Muse sits in the chair, clinging to my hand. I ignore my mother, pretending she isn’t even there. Elise isn’t speaking much about her abduction or what she saw there, but she was hysterical when Scarlet told her about what happened to me. I was almost angry at Scarlet, but she said that Elise is old enough to understand that bad things happen and that people out there care enough to rescue them, even if they get hurt themselves. I reluctantly agreed but made a point of making a mental note to make sure Muse and Elise know I will come for them, always.
I just wish someone had been able to say that to Trin.What if we could have rescued her? No, I can’t play what ifs.
I talk to them quietly for a while before I give them money and ask Sven to take them to the vending machines. My mum twists her fingers together and looks at the floor before peeking at me. I can see the manipulation that started before she set foot in the door, but this time, I’m not going to fall for it. I don’t see my sisters in this woman anymore. I don’t feel anything for her but hate. She’s become a stranger, a stranger who hurt the people I love.
“You sold me out. Again. To the judge. You gave him information about me, didn’t you? That’s how he found me? That's what Pack Samuels was going on about, how did they know about me even while I was on suppressants?” It’s the only thing that didn’t make sense. Sven had told me about the contract out for me, and suddenly, behaviours from my mother like sending me to the library, calling mystery people when I left the house, or the bruises, it all made a sick sense. I haven’t told anyone about what I suspect yet, but I’ll have to after today.
“Yes. They paid a lot of money for you. The judge and Samuels Pack both.” She shrugs as if that makes it okay. I peer up at the ceiling, counting the ceiling tiles so I don’t start throwing things.
“Why did you do it?” As the anger drains, I feel disconnected from the conversation, like I’m not really here.
“Money.” Mum shrugs. “They pay a lot for omegas, and it’s just sex, you wouldn’t even remember.”
I feel sick. “I’m your daughter.”
“Yeah, by birth, but I don’t feel like your mother. I never have.” Mum shakes her head. “I don’t feel like a mother at all. It all feels like my life is out of my control and just escaped where it should have gone. This isn’t what’s supposed to happen to me.”
The plea for understanding goes straight past me. She’s batshit crazy.
“Does dad know?”
She shakes her head, looking utterly defeated and small. “He invested again, can’t find a job, we had no money, we sold almost everything in the house, and they came at night and said that if we couldn’t pay, Trin had to go with them. She was too frail, too broken. I couldn’t do that to her.”
“Why me and not Trin? Why not Elise or Muse?” I don’t even know why I’m asking this question, but I need to understand her.
