Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 70940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Magnolia was looking for answers.
Why didn't she go to the club?
Why didn't she tell me?
Did she think I wouldn't want to know?
Was she waiting until she had an answer?
Nothing is making sense.
"What?" Sissy says, shaking her head. "That doesn't make any sense at all. Who is this letter for?"
"It's addressed to my mother, and judging by the reference to us, it is safe to say it's for her."
"She was cheating on dad?" Sissy whispers.
I shake my head. "I don't know. That's what it sounds like, but..."
"But they loved each other so much. I saw it. We all did. I don't..."
"I don't understand either, but Magnolia was looking for this Dax guy. She's written down heaps of information in her journal; she's been searching for him."
"Do you think that's what happened to her?"
"I think it's what happened to them both," I whisper, my voice shaky.
This Dax.
He killed my family.
When they went looking for him, he made them disappear.
He hasn't met me yet.
He won't be getting away with this.
"SO YOU FOUND SOMETHIN' to indicate that Magnolia was lookin' for someone, someone who had somethin' to do with your momma?" Alarick asks.
I press the phone to my ear as Sissy and I drive back to the club after finishing up with the boxes.
"Yes, but the thing is, it almost seems like this man was indicating they had an affair. It doesn't make any sense, but Magnolia was looking into it. She has heaps of names and numbers. One of those names is that guy I went and seen that she was supposed to be dating. I wondered how she would ever date someone like him, he was disgusting, and now it makes sense. She was looking for something."
"Fuck," Alarick growls. "Bring everything you've got here."
"Do you...do you think my mom was cheating on King?"
"I don't know, honey," he murmurs. "I would never guess that in a million years, but I've been shocked before. There could be more to it. Something else might have been going on."
"Yeah," I whisper. "Yeah, maybe."
"Don't go lookin' at your momma in a different light until we have answers. Right now, we don't have any fuckin' answers, and until we do, we don't know anything. You hear me?"
"Yeah," I say softly. "Anyway, we're nearly there. I'll see you when we arrive."
"Drive safe."
"Thanks, honey."
I hang up the phone and exhale, glancing down at the journal in my lap and wondering what I'm going to uncover when we look deeper into this.
Part of me needs to get started right away, the sooner I can find out what happened to Magnolia, the better, but the other part of me is scared to find out, scared of what we might come across, scared of the answers.
"Do you think my mother is capable of this?"
Sissy looks shocked by my question but shrugs her shoulders. "I wouldn't know. I didn't know her that long."
"She was practically your mother," I say.
"No, she wasn't."
Someone has her walls up again.
"If she was cheating on my dad, though, she is more than dead to me."
"Wow," I mutter. "You know, just when I think there is some good to you, you go and say something like that. You know what, just drop me off, I don't want to be in the car with you anymore."
"Fine by me," she mutters, pulling the car over and staring at me.
"What is it with you?" I ask her, shaking my head in genuine confusion. "You can show these small glimmers of being compassionate, and the moment you realize you're too nice, you turn into a monster and put your bitch shoes back on. There's nothing wrong with being a good person, Sissy. You'd make a hell of a lot more friends that way."
"I have plenty of friends, and I don't need some bratty do-gooder judging me. What would you know about my life, anyway? You don't know anything about me, and you've never tried."
"Like you'd let me," I snap. "You wouldn't even give me a chance."
"Whatever. I don't even care. You are worth nothing to me anymore. Your family is gone, and you need to move on."
"Wow," I whisper, shaking my head. "How is it the good people of the world die, but you get to walk around doing what you do. Go to hell, Sissy."
I take the journal and get out of the car. Sissy speeds off, not looking back. The moment she's gone, I cover my forehead with my hand, realizing just how hot the sun is. God, I didn't think that we're on a significant stretch of road, and the walk is going to be quite intense. Oh well, I need to clear my head anyway. A walk won't hurt.
I set out on my way, and for a while, I feel okay. I mean sure, it's super-hot, but I'm so distracted by my thoughts and the cars whizzing by that I don't notice my body is trying to tell me to stop. When sweat trickles down my brow, I realize I probably need to take a break, and I'm super thirsty. I probably shouldn't even be walking in the sun, you know, with Rupert and all.