I bet.
Turning back to the picture, it’s changed, just how it always does. The little girl isn’t alone. Someone lurks behind the tree, another watching from afar. People who shouldn’t be watching little girls…
“Heidi.” Worry, at least I think that’s what she’s going for, furrows her brow. “I have to be honest with you. You aren’t making progress. You refuse to talk about what really happened, and I fear it’s hindering you from getting better. Please talk about it. I promise it will help.”
She says this every week. Talk. Try. Promise. Talking will make it all better and magically go away. Yet the moment I tried when I first got here, Gabriella made it her mission to make sure everyone working here knew what a compulsive liar I was. That I enjoyed making terrible things up for attention.
Whatever I say won’t be believed, and so I say nothing. And like always, Dr. Ashley Rogue sighs with disappointment, writes it down in her notes, and prescribes me something new to shove down my throat. Something I hope to fucking choke on.
“Ashley says you’re not trying,” Gabriella says, tone pissy and impatient. “Why the hell aren’t you?”
Ashley. They’re on a first-name basis now.
I don’t know why Gabriella bothers ever asking, seeing as the public’s sympathy has upped her book sales. While she wants me out of the way, we both know she would prefer if I kept my mouth shut about all the things that pull her away from the mother of the year title. I’m not delusional enough to believe she actually wants to bond with me during these times she comes to pick me up.
One day a week out of Stonehill is nothing but a photoshoot. A ploy motivated by greed. Being photographed taking her psycho daughter out and about makes her seem like the best mom in the world. When, really, she appeared on TV to promote her shitty books while I was in the hospital having my stomach pumped and a dead fetus scraped from my womb, even though she knew.
She knew…and she still didn’t come.
Instead, her husband was quick to make all the bad things go away. He put me in Stonehill, sectioned under the watchful eyes of doctors and nurses, spouting lie after lie.
We had no idea she would do this.
This was a terrible shock to us all.
Stonehill is a secluded building on the other side of Crowe Park, the city a backdrop from its barred windows. The entire land is surrounded by electrical fences, the entrance heavily guarded with twenty-four-hour security. The building, tan-bricked and charming, boasts an illusion of a safe, nurturing place for young women haunted by their own demons. But it’s nothing more than a glorified prison.
“Are you even listening to me, Heidi?” Gabriella demands, snapping me from my thoughts. “It’s like I’m talking to a brick wall.”
“Sure. I’m listening.” She will only keep going on at me until I say something.
“You’re incredibly difficult,” she mumbles, and I peek a glance at her. At the stranger, I call a mother in my head, my subconscious never taking a hint. “You better not embarrass me today. I mean it.”
Gabriella Lowden is beautiful and ugly. With her radiant skin, glamorous blond locks, and dressed in nothing but the finest, she’s dripping in diamonds from her beloved. A matching set more than likely worth thousands of dollars. But on the inside…well, let’s just say her blood runs black, not red.
Sucking Lawrence’s dick years ago when she was still with my father made her who she is today. Fair Haven Times Bestseller of several books, including her very own autobiography. It conveniently leaves out her life before Lawrence and his riches. However, it does, of course, feature her troubling relationship with me. If that weren’t enough, she is also co-founder of her own successful food brand, Desired Foods, an active charity contributor, and women’s envy across the country.
Blah, blah, blah.
Embarrassing her is tempting, but I know I must behave. We’re on our way to brunch with my stepsister, Elise, and while I’d rather chew off my arm than go, I have to be a good girl if I want more television time in my room.
Hiding the smile stretching over my lips, I point my gaze back out of the window and watch the world whizz by, satisfied that I got under her skin just a tiny bit.
We park outside a fancy restaurant moments later. A pearl, demure building that probably serves overpriced bits of food like every other swanky place Gabriella drags me to. Something she calls a treat in front of people, yet I’m waiting for it to feel like something other than torture.
The valet takes the car, and I reluctantly follow her inside. Elise is waiting for us as we walk through a set of glass doors. Wearing an elegant shirt, dressy pants, and stilettos, my older stepsister beams and waves excitedly. “Elise, my darling!” Once she’s near, Gabriella pulls her into an embrace. “Lovely to see you.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy with work. It’s been too long.” Elise’s smile grows when she sees me in the background. “It’s great to see you, Heidi. Beautiful, as ever.”
Bowing my head, my face searing with heat. “Um…thanks.”
I would love to say the smile painting her lips is forced. That she’s just as arrogant and mean as her father, but it’s not true. Despite not being blood-related, she’s always tried to get to know me over the years. Tried to bond with the notion that we’re real sisters.
I have a sister, and I don’t want another one.
“Are you well?” Gabriella asks as we take a seat at a round glass table.
“I am. There’s so much to tell you. But first, did you hear the latest?” They both dive into gossip—today’s victim, an actress. She was caught cheating on her husband with her latest movie director. Gabriella expresses her disgust like she’s in any
