“What did he say?”
“He wanted to check on your memory.”
“Shit.”
“I told him things were the same.”
“You lied for me?”
“Just call me Mother of the Year,” she said with an eye roll. “He wanted to tell you he’s staying where he is for a while. Something happened and they need him. Some production issue. I don’t know. I honestly don’t listen when he talks. I don’t have to.”
“You really hate him?”
“No. I just don’t like him.”
“You used him.”
“So you want to talk about that again? Or should we talk about the three guys downstairs looking for you?”
I sat up in bed. “What did you just say?”
“Yeah,” my mother said. “Three guys. Noah. Easton. Xavier. The guys who sent you the dresses, right? The guys who tried to hurt you, right?”
“Tried?” I asked. “They… whatever. They’re downstairs?”
“They’re waiting. That’s why I woke you up. They’ve been trying to reach you.”
“I was sleeping…”
“What do you want me to do here?” my mother asked.
“Nothing.”
“I’ll go down there and cut them. One by one. The fancy one… I’ll cut his face. That rough looking one that smells like smoke… I’ll cut his hair. And then the quiet, strong one… I’m not sure…”
“Please stop,” I said. I sat up more in my bed. I stretched my neck. “I just need a second to think.”
“Maybe fix your hair and brush your teeth too?”
“What? Why?”
“True,” my mother said. “You want to scare them, right? The look you have right now will do that.”
“Thanks for that,” I said.
“What do I do here, Winter? Because I have some dueling voices in my head.”
“Such as?” I asked.
“The first loves this. It wants to see how this plays out. This is wild stuff. But at the same time, there’s another voice that reminds me you’re my daughter. I’m supposed to love you, care for you, protect you. Which is why I want to go down there and throw all three through a window.”
“You need a voice to remind you that you’re a mother?” I asked.
“Don’t say it like that,” she said.
“Okay,” I said. I shut my eyes. “Just go… I don’t know. Go be normal. Do whatever you were going to do. I’m fine. Believe me. This isn’t what I thought it was going to be.”
“No crazy revenge?”
“No,” I said. I opened my eyes. “Not at all.”
“Bummer,” my mother said. “I was actually going out. For the night. Meaning I won’t be back until tomorrow.”
“Okay. Why are you telling me that?”
“I don’t know. I guess it’s that mother thing inside me wanting to care for you.”
“That’s not a good look on you.”
“No shit, Winter,” she said. “Do me a favor. Get these guys out of my house. And stay away from them. Find someone else. What happened to that Troc that was sneaking around?”
“He has a girlfriend.”
“Please, don’t be a side piece,” my mother said.
“Did you just say side piece?” I asked.
“I did,” my mother said. “Now get out of bed and figure something out. I’m leaving out the back. Are you sure about this?”
“Yeah,” I said.
My mother touched my hair for a second. It was really weird. Awkward.
She looked at her hand like she just put it into some toxic slime.
I waited for her to leave the room before I looked at my phone.
Texts from all three guys.
Texts from Gia.
Texts from Talon.
The calls from Dad.
I rubbed my forehead.
I texted Gia back and told her I was okay.
Then I sent a text to Xavier telling him I would be right down.
I walked to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror.
I looked like something out of a horror movie. Some zombie looking woman.
That’s kind of what I was already.
I was supposed to die in that accident. I wasn’t ever supposed to wake up, remember and live.
In my first life I was a bitchy Bump.
And now this second version of my life, I tried to stand between Bump and Troc, thinking I could get revenge.
Maybe my mother was right all along.
Maybe I just need to go after the guys with a knife.
Chapter 10
The rest of the story
I walked down the steps just as the sun was starting to set.
That’s how messed up my days and sleep were.
Everything was backward and at that point, I just leaned into it.
Noah, Easton, and Xavier all stood in the kitchen.
Easton had a bottle of vodka from the liquor cabinet and was doing a job of it.
I walked to the counter, he put the cap on the bottle and slid it toward me.
“You need this,” he said.
“I do?” I asked.
“Trust me, you do,” he said.
I grabbed the bottle but didn’t take a drink.
I looked at Noah. Then at Xavier.
Then back to Noah.
“Do you feel good about beating up Talon?” I asked.
“Great,” Noah said.
“I’m not done with him yet,” Xavier said.
“You knew all along Gia was your sister?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“And you did nothing about it?”
“What would you like me to do, Winter?” Xavier asked. “I know all the family secrets. The darkness…” He smiled. “How do you think I ended up with my own shop? How do you think I ended up escaping the grasp that Noah and Easton face?”
I swallowed hard. “You used that secret against your parents.”
“That’s right,” Xavier said. “They know better than to fuck with me. Nobody fucks with me ever, Winter. Ever.”
“I hope you realize how hurt Gia has been,” I said. “How confused she’s been. It would mean a lot to her for you and her to find common ground.”
“She’s with a Troc,” Xavier said. “That won’t work for me.”
“It doesn’t even matter,” I said. “You have no idea what you’re-”
“If we’re going to talk about this, I’m leaving,” Noah said. “I don’t give a damn about anything or anyone except what’s right here. And it’s time we get to the bottom of the truth. Once and for all.”
“You mean we keep talking about how Winter faked having amnesia?” Easton asked.
“It worked,” I said. “I got to you three. I got what I wanted.”
“You didn’t get a thing, Winter,” Noah said. “We brought you in. We knew what we were doing.”
“Out of fear. You didn’t want me to tell the truth. You knew you were screwed if I did.”
“Not true,” Easton said. “It was more of figuring out what you remembered so we knew how to move forward. It was your idea.”