Page 74 of Commit

I look at her and offer her a smile. “Thank you.”

She looks around and bites her lip. “You said she had no family, so how did you end up living here if she was gone?”

The smile slips from my face. “She had an uncle, one she had nothing to do with after she turned eighteen.”

She reaches out and surprises me by squeezing my hand. “He took you in?”

I offer her a single nod.

She hesitates before asking quietly, “Was he good to you?”

I want to lie. I think she’d sleep better if I did, but the secrets are like scar tissue inside me, causing more harm than good. What does it even matter anymore?

“My mom left home because he liked her a little too much. And I know because he liked me a little too much, too.”

She covers her mouth with her free hand. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. He can’t hurt me anymore.” I don’t tell her he was just one of many. She seems nice. I don’t want her to think about the monsters that once stalked through this place.

“What about your dad?”

“That’s a much longer story. And I’m not sure I have it in me today. It’s been a really long week.”

“It’s only Wednesday.”

“I know. I should go.”

I turn to leave, but she tightens her hold on my hand.

“Can I help?”

“That’s sweet, Chloe, but I’m not sure anyone can help me now.”

“Please?”

“Why would you want to?”

“I’m her,” she whispers.

I frown as she waves her hand at the wall.

“Raven’s you, and I’m your mom if she never died. I guess I feel like I stole a part of you somehow. Like, we’re living the life you should have.”

I shake my head. “Is it weird that I like that, knowing that in another life everything turned out differently?” I squeeze her hand and pull free. “I have to go but thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“You gave me back my mom, and you painted over my memories of this place with pretty flower beds and a sunny kitchen.”

She swallows hard, tears glistening in her eyes. A loud “Mom, I’m hungry” echoes through the trailer, making her sigh and me chuckle.

“The queen has spoken. I’d better feed her before she turns into a dragon. It was an honor to meet you, Starling.”

I look at the wall one last time, then back to the woman who kept my mother alive in a way nobody else ever could. “The honor was all mine.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Starling