Page 96 of Muse (Fighting Fate)

I gasped. “What?” The word came out a squeak.

She sighed. “It doesn’t matter right now, okay? Just concentrate on getting better and we’ll work it out later. Dr. Sanders said your memory will come back, so don’t think about it.”

Don’t think about it? How could I not think about it? This was huge. I thought about all the attention Jace got at school. The huge crowds that hung around him and the guys at lunch time. Shit. The beeping of the machine started to get even faster. Mom gave it another worried glance.

She moved closer and put her hand on my cheek. “Mia. Look at me. It’s okay. Just breathe.”

I sucked in a deep breath and tried to blow it out slowly. Then I did it again. And again. Gradually, the beeping slowed. Mom smiled.

I shook my head. This was crazy. I felt like I’d woken in some space/time continuum or something.

“You really saw us together?”

She sighed. “Yeah, baby girl. I did.”

I swallowed hard. “How long have we been going out for?”

“You told me you’ve been serious for a couple of weeks.”

I stared at her for a long time, trying to get it all to make sense. I just couldn’t. It was just too far removed from what I knew to be true.

“When you saw us…” I started, not sure what I was asking. “I mean, you said I told you we were serious, so…how serious?”

Her gaze flickered with unease and she looked away nervously before meeting my gaze again. “You were pretty into each other.”

I narrowed my eyes at her and she looked away again. She was hiding something from me.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

She looked at me guiltily. “Nothing, baby.”

“Mom,” I barked. It made me feel bad, but I was getting pretty damned frustrated. “This is my life we’re talking about. I think I deserve to know. Please? Tell me.”

She exhaled shakily, the noise sounding incredibly distressed, but I couldn’t let it get to me. I needed to know what she was keeping from me.

“We went to see Dr. Markey last Saturday so you could get contraception.”

My eyes almost bugged out my head. I was speechless. That had been the last thing I would’ve thought she’d say.

I heard my breath coming and going, my ears kind of blocked. I think I was in shock. The pill? Seriously? What freaking planet was I on? There was no way I could’ve been considering sleeping with Jace.

Mom cursed, something she never did, and squeezed her eyes shut in a long blink. She was clearly distressed. I knew she wouldn’t lie to me, but what she was saying was completely impossible. Jace and I had hardly even said two words to each other in the last four years. I was sure he didn’t even know I existed. How could we have gotten so close in such a short amount of time that I would be comfortable dating him?

Dating. Jace. Oh. My. God.

“I…” My head was so screwed up. I had no idea what to even say. “Okay.”

Mom frowned at me. “Okay?”

I think I nodded. “Yeah. Thanks for telling me.”

Mom looked even more worried than before. “Are you alright?”

I felt like laughing. One of those really hysterical laughs that needed someone to slap them to stop. “Sure.”

Mom shifted uncomfortably in her chair, eyeing me wearily.

“Can I see Aiden?”

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