“Will you cut it the fuck out? We don’t have time for your shit, Wes,” Sebastian snaps. “We have a serious problem on our hands and too many variables up in the air. Lev’s right. We need to know everything if we’re going to keep her and any of the other girls safe. They didn’t just take her. They took Sam and killed two other girls.”
Sebastian’s words illuminate the severity of the situation. I know Lev’s right, and I know I’m being a dick, but it’s hilarious to see the change in him. He was more anti-Ariah than I was.
“You three can bicker like housewives trying to decide who gets to throw the next garden party later. We need to discuss our next steps so I can go see my Riri,” Wyatt demands.
“Sowecan go seeourgirl,” Owen adds, giving Wyatt a pointed look, and I know Frick and Frack are going to find a way into her house tonight.
Agreeing that we need to do something to get a handle on everything so that we can keep Ariah and the rest of the girls safe, I state, “You’re right. Let’s plan.”
15
ARIAH
Isit in the chair across from dad, whose reappearance I’m still trying to wrap my head around. He’s here, in front of me.
“Where have you been?” I need to know what has happened in the last two years. No. My entire life. It seems to have been a complete lie.
He grunts as he raises the back of his hospital bed from a lying position. “There is a lot I can’t say,” he mumbles.
I narrow my eyes, clenching my jaw at his bullshit answer. “What do you mean there’s a lot you can’t tell me?” I whisper yell, aware that people are walking in and out.
“Ry, there is so much that’s happened that I can’t begin to apologize for, but I need you to know it was all done to keep you safe. As soon as I knew your mother–” he starts, but I cut him off.
“That woman is not my mother!”
“Right. Well, I discovered Seline wasn’t who I thought I married after I was taken as I was leaving the Fraternitas to return home two years ago.”
His words register, and my mind tries to make sense of what he just told me.
“Are you telling me that my moth– Seline knew where you were the entire time you were missing?”
“Yes, and she was responsible for my prolonged absence. After I was released from the Fraternitas, I was taken while on my way to the airport. That’s where I discovered Seline Bishop was really born Elise Lockwood.”
The sheer number of revelations I’ve received since I stepped foot in this town is baffling. Sel-Elise having an alias is high on the list of shit I wasn’t expecting, but my mind kept repeating, ‘after I was released from the Fraternitas.’What the fuck?
“What do you mean released from the Fraternitas? They took you too?”
“I was trying to keep you safe for a little longer,” he starts, reaching his hand for mine. “I needed to let you be my baby girl a little longer, and they just wouldn’t let it happen.”
My brows knit together, even more confused. Who was he trying to keep me safe from? I want to ask him, but his eyes begin to droop, and I know his latest dose of medication has been distributed.
The door to his room opens, and a petite nurse with mahogany hair and pixie features steps inside.
“Hello, I’m Sarina. I’ll be your father’s nurse for the night. I’m just here to check his vitals before he goes to bed,” she explains, walking to his side and examining the machine measuring his blood pressure and heart rate.
As she writes the information on her tablet, she speaks. “While it’s okay for you to be here a bit longer, I recommend you don’t spend the night and give your father some time to rest.” Lifting her eyes from the device, she pauses, surveying my still unkempt state, “And you should go get yourself properly checked out.”
“Yes, Ry. Please go get yourself looked at and then go home to your sister and brothers. Come back tomorrow, and we’ll talk more then,” he slurs, his head lulling to the side, half in and out of sleep.
Sighing, I stand from my seat. They’re right. I need to check on the kids. I can’t begin to process how I will tell them Dad’s back or that their mom is a conniving bitch who tried to kill our dad.
I rub my fingers across my forehead, feeling the dried blood caked on my skin, the realization making me itchy.
“Okay, Dad. I’ll be back tomorrow,” I say as I bend, kissing the top of his head, “with the kids. They’ll be so excited to see you.”
I want to tell him how big they’ve grown and how hard it’s been, but his light snores signal he’s no longer awake. I peer down at him one more time, soaking in the fact that he’s here before I turn to exit the room.
Walking down the hallway, I pass room after room, each filled with someone injured from tonight’s rescue. A level of guilt hits me. They’re here because they came to save me. That feeling quickly morphs into a simmering rage. Rage at so many people but specifically the incubator that birthed me.
