Page 80 of The Spider Queen
“I let him go. I loved your father very much. I loved him enough that I wanted him to find happiness with someone who didn’t need…what I needed.”
I took in her words, rolled them around in my head. “You let me think he abandoned us. Why? And why didn’t you insist that I live with him?”
She sighed, finally looking as tired as I felt. “I did suggest that. But he was afraid that I—without you—wouldn’t have an incentive to get well.”
“Was he right?” I whispered, my eyes filling with tears. Sadness for the misunderstandings, for the years I’d lost staying angry at my father.
“I don’t know, Poppy. Those years…I didn’t see them clearly when they were happening. And now, after all this time has passed, they feel even more like a dream.”
I’d kept myself so closed off, worried about being hurt, being left. All this time, I thought I knew what had happened, I thought I’d known the truth. But I’d known nothing.
“We’ll get you well, Poppy,” Mom said, her own green eyes glassy. “Whatever it takes. The three of us will get you well.”
My sickness had brought our family back together, in a way I never could’ve anticipated.
In a way I never wanted.
Chapter 29
My mom left me alone to rest, telling me she’d come back in an hour or so. But how was I supposed to do that? My wrists were tied, so I couldn’t move. I wondered how long they were going to keep me in the hospital.
Everyone around me had me believing I was crazy. Was I? For weeks I’d been warring with myself. Was it time to give in? Get the help it seemed I needed.
The deck was stacked against me. Yet for some reason, there was a small kernel of hope that refused to die. There had to be another explanation for all of this. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I wished for any explanation that made a shred of sense.
I faded in an out of sleep, my body attempting to expel the drugs from my system. When the door opened again, I cracked an eyelid, trying to see through the darkness.
“Mom?” I rasped.
There was no response as the shadow moved closer. A head bent and then I felt hands sliding down my arms and then settle on my wrists. Suddenly I was free and being pressed against a solid chest.
I let out a sigh of relief when I breathed in Hunter’s familiar scent. He held me to him, whispering words into my ear.
“I’m so sorry,” he murmured. “I’m so sorry they did this to you. I tried to get here sooner—”
“I’m not crazy,” I stated, but my voice wavered. “I mean maybe I am, but—”
“You’re not.” He glanced at the door. “We don’t have a lot of time.” He removed the backpack he was wearing and unzipped it. He pulled out a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a shirt.
I tried to hurry, but my movements were sluggish. I stumbled when I lifted my leg to put on my pants.
“They gave me something. Don’t know what. I guess it’s still in my system.”
“Pricks,” Hunter cursed, helping me into my clothes. “Drugging you like a feral animal.”
“You don’t happen to have any deodorant in there?” I asked, ignoring his rage. I ran my tongue across my fuzzy teeth. “Or a toothbrush?”
“Nope. Necessities only. I do have a piece of gum.”
“Gimme.”
“When we’re in the car,” he promised as he stuffed a pillow underneath the covers down the center of the bed to mimic a body.
A smile bloomed across my face. “You know that never works, right?”
“You have any better ideas?”
“No.”
