Her Hidden Half (War Songs of the Courts #1)

Chapter Twenty-four

The first memory I had was of a hospital room. I woke up with a broken arm and a cut on my hairline that eventually turned into a small scar that only served as an unnecessary reminder of that day. The adults started piling in almost instantly, asking me questions I didn't have answers for. Everything was blank in my mind and when I tried to remember even the most basic things in my life it was like diving into a black hole to try to receive memories that weren't there. I'd tried countless times to access anything before that moment and I always hit a concrete wall.

Every. Single. Time.

There was one thing I could remember, though. My name, Ecasia. I never knew how I managed to hold onto that one thing or why but I knew it was mine and it felt like a lifeline at the time. When the lady with the soft voice asked for my name I automatically answered Echo. The answer surprised us both. Her because up to that point I hadn't said a word and me because I hadn't even meant to say it. It was a reflex that I couldn't explain. It wasn't my name, I knew that, but it didn't feel like a lie either. I knew I should have probably corrected myself, but there was this selfish need I felt to keep my name to myself so in the end I kept quiet.

After that it was what you'd expect of a foster kid who saw strange things nobody else did.

The first family I stayed with started off my education in the reality of my life. They were perfect and seemed to actually care about me. I felt lucky. That is, until one day I told my foster dad about the things I saw. I thought everyone saw the small people who flew around in the garden and when I realized they didn't, it blew my mind. They sent me to therapy and watched me with frightened eyes. I knew that the only way I was going to get out of it without a crazy label on my forehead was to say I lied for attention, so I did.

I guess that was the wrong answer too, because I was put back into the system shortly after with the label of problem child. It taught me it was best to just keep my mouth shut about it, but the damage had been done by then. Trusting anyone after that was a challenge that I never felt up to.

So you could see why even several days later I was laying back on my back, staring blankly at the ceiling as I went over every possible scenario where Demetrius could have found out the name I'd never even uttered aloud.

Did he know my parents?

Was he somehow involved with the past I couldn't remember?

Was he the reason I couldn't remember those years?

Did he really know the things he claimed or was he just another person trying to manipulate me?

So far he'd been honest, but I got the distinct feeling that he was keeping more from me than he was willing to admit.

All I knew was that I couldn't trust him.

I sighed and sat up. My brain was starting to hurt from it all. If I wasn't thinking about my parents, I was thinking about Demetrius. If I wasn't thinking about Demetrius, I was thinking about what happened with Kieran. If I wasn't thinking about what happened with Kieran, I was thinking about the mysteries of my past. Inevitably, it would wander back to my parents and the cycle continued.

I had been hiding away in my room since the incident with Kieran and all I could do was obsess over everything that had gone wrong in my life and how it could be connected. The shit was depressing as all hell. I hadn't even shown up to my classes. I half expected someone to come yell at me about it and when that didn't happen it was a sharp reminder that the people who'd claimed to want to help me were just there to keep me complacent.

Alec was the only one who came to visit and I couldn't bring myself to answer the door. I didn't know how I'd even begin to explain my mood swings.