“He said that your dad… her husband, kidnapped the both of you and would most likely kill you by the end of the night... I had demanded we call the police instead of risking our own lives and potentially yours, but Roman shouted no cops.”
No cops.
They wouldn’t help me anyway.
“What do you remember?” I ask before delving into my wounded mind.
“Um… I remember that I was terrified of what I had just gotten myself into. From the moment we started following you, it was nonstop chaos, and then we finally got to your house, and everything became so much worse. I watched from the car as Roman ran into the house and never came out, and then you emerged, limping out of the forest, swollen and bloody and bruised. Ash was no help to me. He ordered me to stay in the car with Shadow while he went to catch you before you hobbled into the house.”
Sage takes a big gulp, throat bobbing forcefully before she continues.
“I waited impatiently, and I swear my heart was beating two hundred miles a minute while I watched you two take off in different directions. It felt as if hours had passed with me sitting in the car, cradling Shadow in my arms before I saw anyone again. Then, suddenly, you, Ash, and Roman shot out of the house just as it went up in flames.”
“Go on,” I mumble, feeling tears drip down my cheeks as I relive that night from her words.
“I remember feeling the shock being absorbed into my body, and I sat stupefied as we headed back into the woods, but everything stopped and froze in place when I saw Adrianna’s beaten… bashed body lying motionless on the floor… No one bothered to clue me in on what just happened. All I know is I took part in something sinister, and I-I can’t stop thinking about it, Amira… it scares me… what I saw that night.”
Her gaze is severe, eyes burning so deep into mine, I can feel myself sag under the weight of her stare.
“I’m going to tell you what happened… but you have to promise... Swear on your fucking life that you will never, ever, repeat what I’m going to say. Do you promise?” I ask, needing to hear the conviction in her tone before I even begin.
“Yes,” she responds, sucking in a deep breath, preparing herself for the worst, but nothing she can conjure in her mind will ready her for what I’m about to say.
Gritting my teeth, I force the words out, and I’m not able to stop until my wounds are flayed open, and I’m bleeding all over her seat.
Words can’t describe the blank, empty void behind her eyes. I would think she didn’t understand me if it weren’t for the rivers of tears streaming softly down her face as her fingers clutch and claw at the rubber steering wheel cover. There’s a slight wheezing to her breathing as if she just experienced The Hunt from my words.
“Amira, I-I, fuck!” she shouts, running her hand across her face to tangle in her straightened hair. “I’m so fucking sorry, and I know that’s probably the last thing you want to hear, but I am. I’m so fucking sorry for what they did to you… to your mom. They deserved so much worse than what they got.”
“Yeah, well… it’s too late now,” I grumble, picking at a loose string on Roman’s sweater, unraveling it until the entire stitch is dangling from my fingers.
“Amira, I can’t even comprehend what growing up must have been like for you… and I know you hold some resentment toward your mom, but I… she loved you. So much.”
“Then she shouldn't have left me,” I snap, instantly wishing I could draw the words back into my mouth so I can hold my anger close to my chest.
“I know…” Sage says smoothly, trying to slip through the cracks of the wall I am constructing around me. “Fuck, Amira, I know! And I’m trying to wrap my head around it, but shit! I can’t. I fail to understand how the Adrianna I knew, who loved her daughter with every fiber of her being, could leave her behind with monsters.”
She thought she was protecting me.
“Sage, I really don’t want to talk about this anymore,” I say flatly, dropping my hands into my lap, sagging against the seat because the constant fatigue dragging me down is too much to carry right now.
“Oh my God! Of course! I’m so sorry. I just… thank you for trusting me, Amira. I’ll never tell a soul.”
I don’t know Sage very well, but the usual warning bells that shriek inside my head whenever someone makes a promise don’t go off. So I decide to trust her and hope that it doesn’t blow up in my face in the end.
†††
We reach the Sunflower Café a half an hour late, but Sage says it’s fine. Eden could wait for a bit because she is always late.
Grabbing our stuff, we exit the car and walk through the rose pathway to the front of the restaurant.
Sage’s phone beeps twice as we get to the entrance. “Oh, hold on. She texted me to meet her in the back garden.” So, taking my hand, she leads me through the airy café, pulling me between two rose bushes toward the back eating area.
The walk to Eden is a calming one. The earthy scent of soil from the freshly potted daisies warms my insides. Iron filigree tables sit off near the wall, leaving an open path full of flowers of various colors and greenery to enchant my vision. The lavender-scented breeze wafts through the air, mixing with the decedent scent of freshly baked croissants and savory soups.
“The Sunflower Café is definitely a hidden gem in Red Pointe; one that I’m glad not too many people know about,” Sage says, looking back at me over her shoulder, giving me a beaming smile as she adds pressure to my hand.
A young woman around our age springs from her seat the second she spots us. Her long maroon tank top dress flows behind her as the breeze kicks up. Long, curled black hair bounces up and down as she rushes to Sage.
