Page 15 of Twisted Legacy

“And you remember your life before you came here?”

I remember the lie I lived before I came here, which leads to Finn trying to humiliate me and wandering through town then… my body shakes, and I break out into a cold sweat. The machines are beeping again. I want to be okay. I tell myself that I’m okay, but my body locks up, unable to do anything about the hands touching me.

“Easy, sweetness. Just breathe. You’re safe. Come on. Breathe for me. Just breathe. In and out. Ten breaths.”

I try to do it. My mind says to do it, but my body won’t listen. “Come on, sing for me LaReaux. Count those breaths.”

“One, sir. Two, sir. Three, sir.” By the time I get to eight, I’m not as rigid in his arms. The habit of counting the way I do when we’re training is natural. My body easily falls into it. I get to ten and sag against LJ.

“Good girl.”

I swipe at the tears with my good hand. “Help me to the bathroom. I need to see. Whatever happened has messed with my mind. I need to see my body, too.”

LJ shakes her head. “I don’t know if you’re ready yet. Just talking has triggered you.”

“LJ, help me or I’ll hurl myself on the floor and crawl in there myself.”

Coach steps forward. “I’ll let you see, but you’re not walking. You’re weak, and the last thing we need is you falling down and hurting yourself further before the nurse gets here. If you want to see, I have to carry you.”

He gives me a minute to work it out. Considering I just freaked out and did the same thing earlier when he touched me, he’s probably thinking I’ll change my mind about getting out of bed. I want to say forget the whole thing. The idea of touch makes me sick to my stomach. But I won’t be this pathetic thing. Not right now. I can cry about it later when they leave the room. So I suck it up as much as I can.

“Okay.”

He drapes the blanket over me, wrapping me up in it from head to toe, before lifting me. No part of his skin touches mine. Through the thick quilting of the comforter, I can’t even feel his hands. LJ rolls the monitor and IV bag into the bathroom with us. He puts me on my feet with my back to the mirror, then backs away.

“Hang onto the counter. Call me when you’re ready to get back in bed.” He turns and walks away without waiting for me to agree.

LJ asks, “Do you want me to leave too?”

“You don’t mind?”

“No. This is your moment. I don’t need to be here. I’ll close the door behind me, just please do what Coach Wolfe said, and hang onto the counter.”

“I will.”

I wait until the door is closed before turning around. Nothing I could have imagined would have been enough to prepare me for my first look at the bruised and swollen flesh on my face. Seven days and my cheeks are still puffy, my lip twice the size it should be. This is ten times worse than any damage I’ve ever gotten in the ring.

I prop my hip against the counter and ease my shirt up, working my arm through the sleeve and slipping it over my head, letting it hang across the sling on my useless arm. LJ said I was in surgery. The scar extending from the side of my neck across my shoulder is the least alarming thing on me; but weaved in through all the superficial bruising it adds to the grotesque image in front of me. I’m not a vain person, but seeing the damage to my body cuts me deep. Not because I’ve been hurt, but because I don’t know how I got hurt, and however it happened, I wasn’t strong enough to fight back.

Holding onto the counter, I cry. I cry silent sobs, for the girl I was before my attack, and for the girl I was before I found out the foundation of my life was built on lies.

I cry for the Thea LaReaux I was when I came to Canyon Falls, because I have no idea who I am now.

Chapter10

Pax

My father’s back from his business trip. His car is parked in front of the dorm when I get back after class. I climb into the backseat, steeling myself for whatever he’s about to say. He waits until the driver is back behind the wheel and the partition raised before speaking.

“I hear your grandfather has a theory about the girl.”

He’s been gone for two weeks, but that didn’t stop him from staying in touch with what’s happened in his absence. It’s just his family he couldn’t be bothered with. “You think he’s wrong?”

“It doesn’t appear that he is. Though I’ve only just begun looking into things myself. As a member of the legacy validation committee, I think we need to be certain of this girl’s origins before we go around making certain claims. Even if she is the daughter of this ostracized family line, that doesn’t mean she isn’t here to sew discord in our ranks. This bit of news just puts her in a better position to do it, don’t you agree?”

It’s the same thing I said to the guys. Hearing it repeated back to me just strengthens my resolve. I don’t want to be my father, but I respect the way his brain works. “I do. I agree.”

“Good. So nothing’s changed. She’s still to be watched, and at the slightest sign of anything suspicious, you let me know.”

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