Fate's Return (Twisted Fate, Book 2)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

"Aly?"

I looked back at Suzie and Deryk, and tried to smile, but my chin trembled. "Why are you guys here?"

"You texted during supper, remember?" She darted her eyes between me and my mother, looking scared. "So that we could hang out after the show?"

I don't remember.

I looked around. It had been but a few minutes of their arrival, but the was already fog cleared and we were meters away from our car sitting on the left. Patting the ground, I found the keys only a foot away and pressed the button. The headlights flashed, and the doors unlocked. Click. Just like that. Like we'd never been lost, and nothing had happened.

It had, though, and my mother's injuries was proof.

As bad as that was, it meant I wasn't imagining everything that had happened.

I bent and tried to help my mother to her feet, but the pain in her ankle had become too much. She crumbled to the ground and I couldn't catch her, only managing to fall first to soften the blow. Rolling, I moved to crouch at her feet, and groaned. Her skin was crimson and raw, swollen so large, not even the hem of her pants could be lowered.

"What happened?" Suzie looked horrified.

Deryk looked... I couldn't place it. Blank. Suddenly, I wanted Mike, Gabe and Raffy. They may have terrified me, but not as much as the shadow that had brutalized my mother. Would it have gotten this far if I hadn't pushed them away, allowed one of 'my boys' to stay with me at all times while the other two fought whatever that shadow was? Or was the shadow present because they hadn't been able to fulfil their self-proclaimed promise to keep me protected from the dangers chasing me?

"I don't..." I shook my head, unsure of how to explain, or even if they would believe me if I tried.

I grimaced as my mother screamed when I hooked my finger into the edge of her sock after wiggling off her shoe, but I had to do it. The blue tinging her red skin meant no circulation, and until I could get her to the hospital, it was all I could do to help.

"Oh, my God, Aly," Suzie said, leaning forward and bending at the waist to get a better look. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't. Know." Gritting my teeth, I looked up at them both, narrowing my eyes. Explanations could be figured out later, and I, for one, needed one. Soon. But right now? My mother needed help.

"Do you want these in the car?" Suzie held up our bags.

I shook my head. "No. I want you to burn them."

She started opening the top of the bag. "But—"

"Seriously. Burn them to ash, Suzie. I never want to see them again." I moved my fingers to pull the sock off my mother's other foot and she passed out. Throwing the sock to the side, I bent down, pulling her arm around my shoulders, and tried to stand.

"Aly, what are you do—"

"Not now, Suzie." I glanced at Deryk, unable to stand more than halfway on my own. "A little help?" I asked so I could get her in the car.

He stepped forward, cradling my mother in his arms, and I was free to open the back door to our car. Throwing my keys to Deryk, I slid in after my mother, holding her head in my lap, and Suzie rounded to jump in the passenger side. I looked out the back window as Deryk drove us away but couldn't see the shadow anymore. Just Deryk's car, abandoned with the headlights on and both front doors hanging wide open.

"Keep the interior light on," I ordered, and looked down to my mother, hoping that they would think I wanted to be able to keep my eye on her. I did, but even more, I wanted to keep the darkness at bay.