Page 92 of Boots & Scars

Mom gave a reassuring nod. "She's fine too. A pretty deep cut on her forehead, but… fine."

Relief washed over me like a wave.

"And Cooper?" I asked.

"Like I said." She wouldn't look at me.

"What?" I asked. "What have you done?"

"Done?" she asked, adjusting her sweater. "Nothing. I've been here. I've been watching over you."

"You've been keeping everything from me," I said, remembering why I left campus in the first place. "My whole life is a lie."

Mom leaned forward, her face pale and worried. "Oh, Everly, are you—" She reached for me, her hand trembling.

"Don't touch me!" I snapped, jerking back instinctively. Guilt and pain shot through me immediately; she'd always been there for me. But now? Now she was part of the betrayal.

Her eyes widened with hurt and confusion. "Everly," she said softly. "What's happened?"

I sucked in a breath, then another, forcing myself to calm down. "Dad," I managed to say between gasps. "Where is he?"

Mom's face tightened as if she was bracing for impact. "Everly, what are you talking about? Your father is?—"

"No," I interrupted her sharply. "He's not." My voice wavered but held firm. "You've been lying, and I need to know why." My anger deflated into a plea. "Now." Then softer still, "Please."

She sat there for a moment, frozen by the weight of my words. Her eyes darted away as if searching for an escape route that didn't exist.

The machines continued to beep in the background—a jarring contrast to the tension between us—and it only made everything feel more surreal.

"Honey," Mom began, her voice trembling slightly.

"I already know the truth," I said, my voice barely more than a whisper. "But I want to hear it from you. I need to understand."

She sighed, a heavy sound that seemed to carry the weight of years of secrets. "Your father..."

"Was everything a lie?" My voice cracked, the words tasting bitter on my tongue.

"No," she said, shaking her head slowly. "Your father was a good man before... before everything."

"Mom," I insisted, my eyes locking onto hers, demanding honesty.

She fiddled with her sleeve, avoiding my gaze. "I don't know what you want me to say," she mumbled.

"The truth," I said firmly. "If he's not here, if I haven't seen him my whole life, where is he? And why... why did he stay away?"

Mom's shoulders slumped as if the weight of my questions was too much to bear. "Because that's what we arranged," she finally admitted. "I agreed to no child support if he wouldn't have anything to do with you."

"But why... why would you do that?" My voice wavered, caught between anger and heartbreak. "Why would you keep him from me?"

"Because..." She paused, struggling for words. "Because he ruined everything."

"How?"

Mom sighed deeply, her eyes clouding with old memories. "He left us, Everly," she said. "He left us for a tryst with Mary Sinclaire."

The name hit me like a punch to the gut. Mary Sinclaire—was this Cooper's mother?

"So he just... abandoned us?" My voice broke again, tears blurring my vision.

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