“It’s true, honey-bee. Grandma said you two have to take care of her as if she were your daughter. She’ll keep an eye on you,” Chris adds.
Vincent chuckles but nods. His whole family’s watching him with so much pride, so much relief while he strokes Daisy’s fur. Even Steven looks serene now. He whistles, and Vincent looks up immediately. In seconds, they’re hugging each other, like brothers finally reunited.
I smile at the sight—but then a voice freezes me. “Nova Elizabeth! Get over here. Now.”
It’s my mother.
I turn toward my house and see her standing there, arms crossed, nightgown hanging off her, fury radiating from her eyes and Grandma’s holding Asher tightly in her arms.
The boiling weight of dread crashes over me. I pass Daisy to Evelyn. “I have to go—sorry,” I mutter, starting back toward the house.
A hand grabs mine. “Don’t go,” Vincent whispers, pulling me close. “Stay here.”
“I can’t—I have to go.”
“Nova, please...” His voice trembles with concern.
I glance at Steven, at Chris and Daniel, at Evelyn. They all look worried, ready to step in. But I can’t let them. This isn’t their burden. They don’t need to know the truth. It’s enough that they think my mom just doesn’t like Vincent.
“Asher,” I murmur. Just saying my brother’s name makes Vincent loosen his grip.
“Call me in an hour—or I’ll come over,” he insists.
I nod, then bolt toward the house before my mother’s rage falls on Asher instead of me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Nova Marshall
PAST (2017)
"I've never been a very prolific person, so when creativity flows, it flows. I find myself scribbling on little notepads and pieces of loose paper, which results in a very small portion of my writings to ever show up in true form."
Kurt Cobain
Fortunately, Grandma took Asher to sleep over at her house. She told him she was going to bake him a chocolate cake. Dad said he wouldn’t be coming home tonight since he’d been asked to cover the night shift for a sick colleague.
When I got home, my mother didn’t give me so much as a glance. She started cleaning the house, overturning everything I had already fixed that morning. She didn’t speak to me the rest of the afternoon, not even while I helped her make dinner. She’d decided to cook chicken thighs with mashed potates, and when we sat down at the table and I refused to eat the meat, she burst into a nervous cry.
For half an hour now, she has been pacing the kitchen. She washes dishes and slams everything around with more forcethan necessary. Every movement makes me wince. It reminds me of when I was younger and she’d pinch me, slap me, shove me hard—just because seeing me reminded her of what she had lost, of what my father had done to her.
“You have to stop doing whatever you want! You’re sixteen! You’re not going anywhere if you keep acting like this. And your clothes, Nova—” her voice cracks, rising, “—you don’t need to dress like a slut. For what? To make boys stare at you? Do you think no one will want you unless your legs are bare and your stomach’s out? You’re scared you’ll turn out ugly, just like your mother? You should focus on school and get these stupid ideas about animals and that crazy punk out of your head. Help me with your brother instead. It’s your fault I’m like this now, so drop it and, for once, act like a normal person!”
She screams the last words and hurls a ceramic plate across the room, which shatters into shards against the floor.
“Mo—” I start, but she cuts me off immediately.
“Mom what? You’re just a stupid slut! You need food? Money? Why can’t you be like my friends’ children? You have to grow up. Life’s not about flowers and stupid animals. I don’t know what I did wrong with you... Study, and maybe you’ll do something useful in life. And above all, forget Vincent Cooper and his parents! Those people are not normal, and his aunt is nothing but a whore. That boy will abandon you the second he gets what he wants. All men are like that, do you understand? They use you, then toss you aside when you need them most. He’s just like your father. He only wants to get between your legs. Be careful, Nova. I’m saying this for your own good, honey.”
Her mood swings violently, her words leaping from cruelty to sweetness in seconds. She terrifies me. Her hands are trembling, her eyes locked on me with an expression I can’t read. All I know is that I’ve never been so afraid of her.
I push myself up from my chair with my arms wrapped tight around my chest. “I... I’m going to my room to study for the driver’s license test. May I?”
“Yes, go. Then go to sleep,” she mutters in a harsh tone.
I nod quickly and rush out of the kitchen, ignoring the broken plate crunching underfoot. I lock myself in my room and collapse onto the bed. Staring up at the fluorescent stars on my ceiling, I close my eyes and force myself to think of anything else.
Him.
