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True stared at their clasped hands for a beat before lifting her gaze again. “Mom talked about you sometimes.”
“Oh? What did she say?”
“That my grandma brainwashed you, and I couldn’t trust either of you. She talked about kidnapping you to the compound to help you see the truth.”
Alexis blinked in shock. “What truth is that?”
True shook her head hard, and tears brimmed in her eyes. “I don’t really know. The truth never stayed true for long with Mom. I… I don’t think she was well, like, mentally. Clarity snuck me a psychology textbook once, and I read about something called bipolar disorder. It sounded a lot like Mom. I thought she needed help.”
A lump rose into Ellie’s throat, choking her. “Is that why you called Cal?”
True looked at her. “Is that your husband?”
“We aren’t married. We just said we were to get into the retreat.”
“Oh.” True frowned. “Then what are you?”
Good question.
One Ellie didn’t have an answer for, so she settled for the easiest explanation: “We’re friends.”
She didn’t look convinced by that. Judging by Alexis’s knowing smirk and Shane’s sudden interest in the ceiling, neither were they.
“Is he okay?” True asked suddenly. “And your other friend?”
“Yes, they’re in the hospital, but they’ll both be okay. Thanks to you. Cal said you told him not to eat or drink anything offered to him.”
True twisted her hands in her lap. “I was so afraid he wouldn’t listen.”
“You knew they were all going to poison themselves?”
“Yes. As long as I can remember, it’s all they ever talked about. Mom and Dad convinced everyone it was the only way to survive The Great Renewal.”
Alexis leaned forward. “What was that supposed to be?”
“I don’t know exactly. Mom talked about some kind of big, prophesied disaster—it changed often, but most recently, she claimed it would be an earthquake that would swallow the West Coast, and everyone would die during it except for the Embraced. But then it became everyone had to die, but the Embraced would rise again when it was over. It was always something that would happen in the future, but suddenly, a few weeks ago, things changed. I got scared.” She met Ellie’s gaze. “That’s why I called Cal. I found his card stuck between the pages of the textbook, and I researched him when Clarity gave me time on her computer. I saw he was looking for Mom and thought he could help, so I told him Mom was missing.”
“Why did everyone at the commune already think Hope was dead?” Ellie asked.
“Mom decided it was better that way because prophets are always more revered after they die, so she had Dad tell everyone she was dead. But she controlled everything from the background. Nothing happened at the commune without her say-so.”
“I’m so sorry,” Alexis whispered. “I know it couldn’t have been easy living with her.”
“It wasn’t.” True hunched in on herself. “But she was my mom. She wasn’t all bad.”
“Of course not. You’re allowed to miss her.” Alexis slid closer and covered True’s tightly knotted hands with hers. “I miss her, too. She was a great big sister before she left, and I loved her so much.”
“We both did,” Ellie spoke up. “But I’m also so angry with her for everything she did to Cal. And to you. It’s okay to feel conflicted about her right now.”
After a long moment, True nodded and blinked back the tears that she never let spill. “So what happens to me now?”
Alexis looked at Ellie, passing her the conversational ball.
Ellie moved to sit on True’s other side. “We were just talking about that. You can come live with me if you like.”
“Or us,” Alexis added. “But no hard feelings if you’d prefer to stay with Ellie. We get it. We just want you to be happy and feel safe.”
True looked back and forth from one sister to the other. “I think… I want to go with Ellie.”
