Page 21 of Ghost Hunted

Maybe she never wanted me in the first place; maybe it was all just a cruel new way to hurt me. That sounds like her, the manipulative snake.

But what if…

No. I can’t go down that hole again. I just can’t.

It only leads to pain.

“I wish you’d let me fall, Logan,” she says in a broken voice.

I don’t answer. I push down on everything, struggling to breathe. I wonder if I’m going to be sick again.

I open the back door of the house, not even looking before gesturing for her to get inside. This is the moment I leave her again. But now, it has to be for good.

I’m about to slam the door behind her and head back to the car when I hear a loud sob.

Oh, fuck.

At once, I push open the door and rush inside to hold back Piper, who was about to fall into Lia’s arms.

“You didn’t kill her. I knew you wouldn’t,” she gasps. “You love her. She’s my mother.”

She opens her arms to Lia, her cheeks glittering with the same tears that drench her mother’s face.

They look so much alike, it’s crazy. Except Lia’s face is a little narrower, and her features, a little more set. There’s not a wrinkle on her, though. She still looks so young, so pretty…

No.

“We’re leaving, Piper. We need to go.”

“Piper,” repeats Lia musingly. “Piper. Like… at the diner. Is that your name now, Aurora?”

“Uhm…” Piper frowns. “What diner?”

“The diner. Yes, I think it was a diner.” She flushes a dark red, averting her eyes from me. “I’d run away with you, Aurora. And I said my name was Piper.”

She smiles sadly, and Piper dips out of my hold. I hiss out my frustration. But I’m not leaving my daughter here with this manipulative snake, so, gritting my teeth, I lean against the door, watching. Quill stands on the other side, looking just as furious as I feel. I’m not sure how much he knows, but surely it’s enough to realize that this woman abandoned her own flesh and blood.

“I don’t remember,” says Piper. “Who were you running from? Your husband?” She wrinkles her nose. “Carmelo?”

Lia glances at me, but that glance must be enough for her to realize that answering the question would be a bad idea. She turns her head quickly back to Piper. “Don’t you remember that time? Don’t you remember… me? Don’t you have any memories from before I lost you?”

“You didn’t lose her,” I cut in harshly. “You abandoned her.”

“Don’t listen to him,” snaps Piper. “He’s just grumpy.”

“For fuck’s sake…”

I cross the room toward her, about two seconds away from… I don’t know what. Quill pushes himself away from the wall and hurries toward Piper, but Lia gets there first. She stands in front of Piper and faces me.

“Stop right now, Logan.”

“Get the… fuck! Get away! Fucking… now!”

I can only remember being this angry, so angry that I lost the ability to speak, once before. I’d taken all my anger out on Lia’s husband for some unrelated joke about Everest. It was safe to take out my anger in that way. Much safer than to show just how much I cared.

But it’s not safe to take my anger out on Piper.

She’s quaking. By now, Quill’s got his arm around her, and he drags her back so that he’s standing in front of her.