Page 35 of Where We Began

She's standing by the window. The curtains are open and the sun makes her shimmer like a ghost. She doesn't turn at the sound of my voice. I can see her hands where they wrap around her biceps from behind. They're digging into her skin; she knows I'm here.

I wait a second then force myself to cross into the room. I don't go farther than that before she finally speaks. “Why do you think you can come in here and talk to me?”

I steel myself, keeping my voice calm. “I know I messed up.” Admitting it cuts me to the bone. I'm ashamed of my mistakes. “I just want to do whatever I can to make everything right. Tell me how I can help.”

“You want to know how you can help?” she asks coolly. Her hips kick to one side then she turns to eyeball me with disdain. I might as well be a cockroach at the moment. “Can you go back in time, prevent me from making the mistake of bringing you into this world?”

Her words sting. I think they won't because I've heard them so many times, but they always do. “I can't change the past, but I can change the present. Just tell me what you want, Mom. Do you want me out there looking for Joseph? Do you want me at the company downtown with Dad, fixing things there?”

She laughs, and there's no humor to it. “There's nothing you can do to make this better, not unless you have some secret way to drag Joseph back to my feet, kicking and screaming. Do you have that, Dominic? Do you have a way?” She advances on me and I tense up. She's a tall woman, but I'm still much bigger. I looked down on her and hold my breath.

She watches me like an owl considering a mouse when it's already eaten enough. Her arms uncross; she heads back to the window. “I don't know how I can trust you with anything. The least you can do is try to keep us from losing Laiken as well. Keep an eye on her. Don't let her off the estate. If she escapes like her father did, not even Silas will stop me from tearing you to shreds.”

I swallow, considering how to respond. “I'll figure something out,” I say. She doesn't even shrug. She gazes out the window and ignores me.

Our conversation is over. I think about a hundred things I could say to her, things I always wished I could. The names I could call her, the ways I would scream and shout and force her to accept that Iexist, that I'm here, and I'm worthy of her attention.

I retreat through the door and close it partially behind me. Something moves at the corner of my eye. I jerk my head up, honing in on whoever is watching me.

It's Laiken.

She's standing nearby, not quite blending in with the wallpaper. She startles when my eyes fix on her. My heart instantly beats faster. “What are you doing here?” I ask, more sharply than is needed.

She doesn't waiver, she approaches me, reaching for my hand. I realize she wants to get us away from my mother's room. I avoid her grip, leading us around the corner. When we're out of earshot of the bedroom, Laiken jumps in front of me. “I heard everything,” she says.

My eyebrows fly to my hairline. “Everything?”

Her lips part and she shakes her head a few times. “Okay, not everything. But I heard her talking to you, the tone of her voice. She's mad, isn't she? What did you do?”

God, what a question! “What didn't I do?” I respond, shrugging. Some of my armor rusts away and I feel my sadness seeping through. I recover as quick as I can hope and she didn't see.

“I did hear one thing clearly,” she says. Looking me in the eye she flashes a devious smile. “She wants you to keep an eye on me, right? That won't be easy if I try to avoid you. I'm pretty fast. I think you saw me in action. I could hide in a ton of places on this estate and make your job really hard.”

She's something else. I love the hint of playfulness in her angled grin. The way she folds her hands behind her back, leaning towards me with her head tilted. It's... refreshing. I've lived my life under a black cloud. Around Laiken, the sun peeks through, breaking apart some of the storm.

I run my fingers through my hair, chuckling dryly. “I do remember how fast you were. I also remember I was faster.”

Her confident grin doesn't even twitch. “I guess. But if you take my deal, I won't make you chase me at all. I'll make your job real easy.”

Combining the thought of her and the wordeasythrills me to my core. My muscles bunch up, I'm tempted to catch her right now, right here. Just to see what she'd do.

Looking her over, I finally give a short, but real, laugh. “You don't give up, do you?”

“No,” she says, deadly serious. “I never have.”

I pull a sharp, short breath through my nose. “Here's the deal. If you're keen to hold still, letting me keep you in my sight, I'm inclined to tell you whatever you want to know about my family's business. Who knows, maybe you'll come up with something that makes my parents happy. We'd both like that, I think.” Her eyes light up—I hold up a hand. “However, we're still not on the same side. I'm not going to quit searching for your father.”

A spark of relief brightens her smile. “Still, I want to thank you.”

“Don't thank me. I'm getting involved for my own benefit.”

I say it like it's plainly obvious.

Why do I feel like I'm trying to convince myself?

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