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Chapter 1
JamiReeceheardherfather’s door slam in the hallway. Her hand trembled as it clenched the bathroom counter.
“You’re not going tonight,” she told herself, but she’d said that before. “Not this time.” Part of her had already given in to the inevitable, the part that had lost so much time there was no getting it back and had chosen to accept what hurt, again and again. It was the other side, the one that hated that she’d let another man in her life do as he pleased, that wanted to shout at her reflection just to find a release.
She pushed away from the counter. If she didn’t get to her father, he’d likely hurt himself. It wasn’t like he could help it, in his condition.
“Rebecca!” her father shouted. It was her mother’s name, but no matter how many times she’d told him his wife had passed away, he never remembered. Right or wrong, she’d begun answering to whatever he called her each day.
The car accident had taken more than their mother from her and her younger sister. It had taken their father, everything that had made him the man he was. An angry shell had been left behind, one who couldn’t take care of himself.
At least her sister, Skylar, had escaped long ago. It was only fair that Jami continued with her penance. She’d ripped their lives apart.
“Rebecca, now!” her father shouted. That tone of his started so early nowadays. Her hands raised to her throat, where the bruises had faded, but she still felt like it was so hard to swallow at times.
Her father had never been a violent man before the accident. A steady worker, with a loving wife who treated him like a king, he’d been a solid figure in Jami’s life. Maybe never the hugs-and-praises kind of parent she’d always wanted, but he’d been patient in his strictness. She’d always known he was trying his best, even as he followed logic more than emotion. As someone with a similar temperament, it had been oddly comforting to her.
She opened her bedroom door to rush into the hallway. “I’m here,” she said, hand held out in reassurance. If her teenage self had been told she would miss her steadfast but stern father, she would have never believed it. The man left in his place spewed one emotion after the other, letting it land where it would.
“Breakfast wasn’t ready,” her father said, turning to her from the top of the stairs. “I waited and waited.”
He hadn’t even gone downstairs yet, but Jami knew better than to argue with him. She’d even woken up earlier than usual. It was another lesson in how planning the day never worked, but she kept attempting it, holding tightly to those rare good days when everything ran smoothly.
“I’ll get started on it right away,” she promised.
His eyes were shifty that morning, the type that said no matter how she tried, it was going to be a bad day. When she tried to swallow, her saliva became stuck in her throat. She remembered the last time she’d seen those eyes. She tried to take his arm to lead him downstairs. Most of the time, he was fine on the steps, but not when he looked like that.
He latched onto her arm instead. “Don’t think I didn’t see.”
“See what?” she asked. His fingers had gotten so much skinnier over the last few years. The bony claws didn’t lack strength, though, and bit into her wrist.
“I won’t have it!” he shouted, shaking her arm even as his fingers tightened.
“You’re hurting me, Dad,” she gasped, trying to loosen his grip. She wanted to kick herself when his eyes clouded at the term.
“No,” he murmured, releasing her suddenly.
Jami had been trying to jerk free and caught herself against the wall. The edge of the top stair dug into her heels. “It’s okay,” she said. She shifted forward a step, her feet finding better purchase. “I’ll make breakfast, and everything will be back on schedule.”
“You’re not Rebecca.” Her father looked to each side of the hallway. “Rebecca!” he called. The break in his voice made her own eyes tear up.
“Come downstairs with me. Please.” Jami held out a hand, careful not to touch him this time.
Her father’s eyes focused on her. “What have you done to my wife?” He stepped forward, shoving at her left shoulder.
Jami lost the step she had taken, her right hand smacking against the wall again as she caught herself. “Wait, the sta—”
But it was too late to remind him of the stairs. His eyes hard and vacant, her father shoved her again, and she lost her footing. The blow to her shoulder twisted her, and her hands failed to find purchase. The first step caught her low on her side as she tumbled. A blazing pain ran through her, made distant when her head connected with the railing and a rushing filled her ears. The pain of each strike paled in comparison to the final landing on her right leg.
Panic thrummed through her veins as she tried to blink the world into focus. All she could see was a blinding light. Her own panting filled her ears as a numbness worked from her chest outward, somehow cushioning her from the worst of the pain. She had to get up, she told herself. Her father was still on the steps. He must have been so confused.
And all he had was her.
The thought followed her into the darkness.
Chapter 2
Malcolmpulledthesecondbeer and set it on the tray, but kept a hand on it. He frowned at his cousin across the bar. “Sit, Celia. I’ve got this.” She’d looked pale ever since she’d arrived for the lunch shift.
