Hell Flower

||5||

The bus went over a bump, and my stomach did a cartwheel in my gut like I was going over a drop on a rollercoaster.

"Shouldn't be happening? What does that mean?"

"The fact that you remember nothing of when you've shifted isn't normal." Liz bit at her lower lip. "It means that whatever entity exists within you isn't in contact with you. It's a separate being."

"But where did it come from?" I shouted, rising to my feet just in time for the bus to bump over another pothole, sending me falling into Liz's lap.

"Sorry." I scooted to my side of the couch, trying to put as much distance between them and myself as I could. I pulled my legs in, tucking myself into a ball with my feet at the edge of the seat.

Liz and Jake exchanged a quick glance while Reggie and Veronica stared at me intently. They knew something else. Something they weren't telling me. Why were they keeping it from me?

"Where did it come from?" My voice came out as a growl as I repeated my question. "And how do I make it stop?"

"I think it's always been with you," Liz said. "Since you were born."

I let out an exasperated sigh and ran my hand back through my long hair. "But why me? And why is it only coming out now?"

The sensation of burning and the blackouts had only started over the past year or so. At first, I thought they were just from drugs and alcohol. If this . . . entity . . . had been in me since I was born, why now? "Why hasn't this happened before?" I stretched out and returned my feet to the floor as a tingling sensation crept over my limbs. I scratched at my arms.

"I had a daughter once, you know?" Liz changed the subject. "Alex and I did together."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "So?"

She looked out the window, staring at the trees rushing by as the bus roared down the empty highway. "We were both in different bodies." She looked back to me. "It was a long time ago." She blinked a few times. "How old are you, Allison?"

"Twenty-six," I replied without even thinking.

"Twenty-six years ago." She paused, her dark blue eyes examining me with a maturity far beyond the appearance of her features.

A shudder raged through me, and my breath caught in my throat. "Wait, so when my parents died . . ." I paused, tears burning behind my eyes as it all clicked together. I gripped the edge of my seat. I couldn't take it all in. It was too much. "That was you?"

Liz nodded slowly.

I pinched my eyes shut, tears sliding out the corners and running down my cheeks. "No." I shook my head. "No! This is some sort of joke! You're fucking with me." I couldn't believe this. I refused to believe this.

When I opened my eyes, Liz stared back at me, shaking her head. "I know it's a lot to process, but I'm not lying, Allison," she said. "Our house was on 145 Pine Street. Your best friend was our neighbor Carolyn, and whenever she slept over, the two of you went up to the attic and played with the Ouija board. Your favorite food was blueberry Pop Tarts, and you'd always eat them right before dinner. You thought I didn't notice, but—"

"Stop it!" I screamed at her. "Just fucking stop!" I couldn't talk to her. My parents hadn't died. They'd abandoned me. Both of them.

"Allison—"

"Fuck you!" I snarled. "I hate you." I slammed my palms onto the plastic table, the flimsy surface vibrating and shaking with the impact as I pushed myself up from the couch.