The Truth About Kian

23. For my head on a silver plate

Another chapter because I'm hoping to finish TTAK soon. :)

:: C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - T H R E E | FOR MY HEAD ON A SILVER PLATE ::

Colour drained from Mom's face. "What?"

I saw the excuses forming in her head as she struggled to come up with an answer.

"Don't lie to me."

I felt Liam's hands on my shoulders, but I shrugged him off. "Reed, calm down."

"Don't you see it?" I shrieked, rounding on him. "Look at her eyes, Liam! Look!"

He did, and I knew he saw what I saw: Kian's eyes. Slanted and amber coloured and surrounded by thick, dark lashes. They even shared the same colour of hair and skin — traits I though Karter was responsible for, but he wasn't. Mom looked like the older, female version of Kian.

Karter had called his old girlfriend Lor, and I assumed her name was Lorie or Lorelai. But it wasn't. Lor was short for Laura — my mom's name.

I didn't know how I'd missed the uncanny resemblance between Mom and Kian. It was so obvious that I wondered if I should get my eyes checked.

She reached for me, her anger gone and replaced by pleading eyes and a trembling mouth. "I think you need to explain," I snapped, stepping away.

Mom lowered herself to the ground, curling her legs under her. "I was 17," she said in a voice so quiet I had to strain to hear it. "And I thought I was invincible."

I sat next to her, shuffling along the ground until my elbow brushed hers. "Tell me more." She threw a wary glance at Liam. "He's Colton Sinclair's son. I think you knew him."

Mom nodded, inhaling deeply. "I guess Colton might be the easiest place to begin." She stopped to retie her boot. I cleared my throat as Liam eased himself beside me. "I always liked Colton, but he wanted more than I was willing to give. He was a good friend," she said, sounding wistful.

"He still talks about you, but it's like he can't stop himself because the moment he realizes that he mentioned you he shuts the conversation down."

Mom had the good grace to look embarrassed "I wasn't very nice to him in the end, and I regret it."

"Sounds like you regret a lot of things." Liam shook his head at me, and I shrugged as if to ask so what? I didn't owe anything to my mom.

She sniffed, pausing to take a long sip of water. "I was like you, Reed. Scholarship student to St. Benedict. All I wanted was to get out of Scire." She gave me a half smile I didn't return. "The girls were terrible, but I got along with many of the boys — even the Inheritors."

"Like Karter?"

Mom's lips pinched in a tight line when I brought up Karter's name. "We just ... clicked when we met. I couldn't help loving him."

"Enough to have a baby together?"

The look she gave me was enough to freeze hot water. "I'm only telling this so you'll understand why I did the things that I did. Don't judge me for something you don't understand."

"Sorry," I mumbled, feeling like a small child again. Liam squeezed my hand, making an attempt to weave his fingers through mine, but I pulled away, squeezing my hands together in my lap.

Mom watched us, and I shrugged in response to the question written across her face.

She'd been out of my life longer than she'd been in it, and despite my repeated attempts to connect with her, she'd made no effort to show that she even cared about me. She didn't deserve to know anything about my life.