Page 99 of My Darling Mayhem

The boys were bundled in thick sweaters, running through the freshly cut grass, laughing while they rolled down one of the steeper hills. I tucked my arms in close and watched them with a smile on my face.

“Good morning, Wren.” Taylor came up next to me, holding a thin blanket around her shoulders.

I turned to greet her, seeing her differently out in the sun. Pieces of blonde hair flew around, trying to escape her low chignon. Her makeup was light, highlighting her lips, cheeks and eyes. With her light blue dress, her features were a little washedout, but there was something haunting in her gaze, something that spoke of a heartbreak that only a mother would know. It made me feel strange, like perhaps I should walk over and hug her.

“I met your sons.” I decided to say instead.

Taylor’s blue eyes flashed, her nose flared and then she found the grass by our feet.

“I’m sorry.”

Her response threw me. “Why?”

She looked down. “You know why.”

The breeze blew between us while the sun warmed our faces. I watched the boys while I tucked my arms in and stepped closer, hoping to encourage her to continue. She watched the tree line near the back of the property and let out a small sigh. “Once upon a time, I had these beautiful baby boys that worshiped their father and looked at me as if I hung the stars. They adored their big sister and this life we gave to them, with their friends who became chosen family. Once upon a time, our lives were beautiful and full of wonder. Not perfect, but full of color and laughter.”

Her face dipped, which only made me feel something in my gut twist, as if that haunted look was more pronounced. I had to look away, so I found the boys and trailed them as they ran toward us, giggling and playing tag.

“What happened?” I asked softly, hoping I wasn’t overstepping.

Taylor’s posture shifted, just the slightest bit. Her fingers gripped the edge of her blanket tighter, and her hair swayed in the breeze. The house stood like a tall monument behind her with glass windows that faced grassy acreage and was bordered by a thick forest. The cream color of the stone made the home feel like a castle sitting on the edge of a coastal cliff.

“Did you know that when I met Juan, I was pregnant with another man’s baby?”

I kept my expression impassive while I shook my head.

Taylor’s expression was stoic as she continued, “Not only that, but I was also engaged to a man that was neither the father of that baby nor was Juan.”

“Sounds messy,” I mused, wishing we had coffee to go with this chat.

I had stopped into the massive kitchen this morning and made the boys two bowls of oatmeal, but the coffee machine was more complicated than my Keurig back home, so I didn’t touch it.

Taylor tucked her blanket tighter while she continued, “I was in danger and completely alone. Juan saved me, saved Alex. Stepped up in a very big way, and because of us…because of me, it forced his hand and had him taking the reins of El Peligro again. Your mother hated me for it.”

I couldn’t tell her that I also hated her, but perhaps I shouldn’t anymore. It seemed there was more to her story than I understood.

Taylor gave me a look as though she heard me. “I’m sure you did too.”

I replied with a half-smile to which she laughed.

“Sometimes we do things for the love we know we can’t live without. The thing we know will change our life forever. We go the furthest, act the most irrational, and make the boldest claims…and sometimes, even that isn’t enough. You asked what happened…My sons found themselves at the mercy of demonstrating their love for someone.”

I turned the smallest bit, tucking hair behind my ear. “And it changed them?”

Taylor’s lip wobbled while a harsh whisper left her.

“It destroyed them.”

A tiny ping stung my chest with empathy for them. For Taylor and my brother. “So they became monsters?”

“They became whatever they had to become. Same as Juan…same as me. The difference was the love Juan and I shared, we shouldered together…When you don’t have the person with you to share it…it goes deep inside you, and it rots. It turns all the good you clung to, to something unrecognizable. It makes you stop believing. My boys shared a womb. They shared the same birthday every year for nineteen years. They even shared the same first love, and the force of that love ruined them both.”

“Is she…” I still wasn’t sure how to ask this question.

Where was this girl that these boys seemed to love? Fear had me thinking the worst, but right as I was about to open my mouth, the back patio door creaked, and someone stepped outside. A strong wind that seemed to roll up through the hills along their property forced a sheet of dark hair to fly as the girl exited. Her angular face was familiar, even without the bruises she had in the photo I’d seen. This was her.

Presley.

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