Page 103 of Tainted Romance

“So, they thought they had the right to take my memories, and you two thought you had the right to return them?” I looked between them.

“Wouldn’t you prefer to know who you are, rather than the you they want you to be?” Dad asked me.

“I thought you were dead.” I glared at him. “All this time. You just stood in the shadows.”

“I’ve always been close. You just never knew.”

“Well, it seems everybody thinks it is perfectly fine to lie to me.” I felt raw rage creep into my veins. “What am I to do now?”

“That’s up to you,” Jace spoke softly. “You can keep up the act until you’re ready to face them, or just remain a lone wolf with us.”

“I’m not telling them anything, not until I can change and have control over my wolf.” I made a decision. “How do I face them, without them realizing?”

“Just do what they have been doing to you, lie.” Dad handed me a cold bottle of water. “Now we have to get you home before your mother starts to worry.”

She let them wipe my memories. Wasn’t she meant to protect me?

“I hate her,” I whispered, undoing the bottle cap.

“You will find, girly, that your hate list will grow larger now.” Dad climbed back into the driver’s seat, and I sat next to Jace.

“I hate them all.”

Jace placed a hand on my knee. “If they thought your wolf was dying, they wouldn’t have had another choice.”

“They had the choice of telling me.” I looked him in the eye. “They always had that choice.”

Chapter Forty-four

Just act normal. How the hell was I meant to live in cotton candy land when everyone around me was lying to me? I reached into my handbag and pulled out one of mom’s anti-anxiety medications.

I popped one in my mouth and swallowed it just in time as my locker door slammed shut, nearly causing me to choke on the small round pill.

“What the hell, Blake?!”

“Funny, I was gonna ask you the same question. Any reason you have been ignoring my calls?”

Yeah, because you’re a fucking liar.

“My phone was dead.”

“And you forgot how to use the charger?”

“Yeah, maybe I did.” I unlocked my locker again. Stupid Blake, stupid mom, and stupid Chase. My blood was slowly boiling the more I thought of it.

Keep calm, Allie.

Keep calm.

“You’re not your normal self today.” Blake narrowed his eyes at me, studying me like I was some sort of experiment.

“I’ve had a bad morning. Burnt myself with the hair straightener, then mom was fussing over me,” I played down the lie. “Now, can you get out of my face? I have a class to be at.”

And you to get away from.

He stepped to the side and let me pass. His judgmental eyes stayed locked on me until I turned the corner and walked right into one of the last people I felt like talking to.

Ryder Harris.

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