Page 39 of Mind Maze

I could brave this world all by myself.

That simply hurts.

I’m not that strong. Full stop. At least at the dorms, I had a roommate.

A black SUV pulls up to the curb in front of me. The driver hops out and rounds the front of the vehicle. “Miss Langston?”

“That’s me,” I say, giving him an awkward wave.

He smiles warmly despite the early hour and opens the back door for me. Eva’s familiar perfume greets me.

“So happy you could meet with me,” Eva says, taking my hand and squeezing it when I sit beside her. “I know it’s early.”

“Couldn’t sleep.” I shrug as I buckle in. “I’m surprised Dad didn’t try to tag along.”

Eva glances toward the driver and purses her lips. I get the message. Whatever’s said will be reported back to Dad.

We chat about unimportant things as we head for the café. I haven’t been to the place since this past summer. They have the best orange scones.

The driver waits by the curb as we exit in a rush, hurrying to escape the chilly wind. Once inside, Eva waves me on to go grab a table while she heads for the register. I notice a couple of men finishing up, so I snag their table by the windows. A few minutes later, Eva arrives with a plate of orange scones and two steaming lattes.

She primly eats her scone while I inhale mine. It’s even better than I remember. I make a mental note to bring Kaitlyn here before we go back home.

I bristle at the thought of Canada being home.

OfCaiusbeing home.

“I’m sorry about the other night,” Eva says after dabbing her lips with a napkin. “Your father was out of line.”

I nod, completely agreeing. “Did you know?”

“Unfortunately, no.” She sighs. “I only knew what he’d told me. That you’d previously been under psychiatric care for delusions and whatnot, but that therapy was helping. We didn’t exactly dig into the details.”

I can’t blame Eva. She came into the picture after Vivienne left. Dad likely withheld a lot of information from her. To him, she’s just a trophy, not a true partner.

“I’d suppressed those memories,” I tell her softly, dropping my gaze to my second half-eaten scone. “I’d recently come off my meds, so when I was in my room back at home, I remembered.It all flooded back…” I trail off, shivering. “I don’t know if I can ever forgive him.”

Eva reaches across the table, clutching my forearm. “I hope you find a way to. You’ve already been through so much. Carrying that anger will only make things worse.”

For a split second, I wonder if Dad sent her to counsel me. Did he ask her to spike my latte with my meds? I eye the drink warily.

“And then Bastian upset me,” I say, purposely remaining vague. “Aside from seeing you, this has been a horrible visit.”

Eva frowns, nodding. “You adore your brother. I’m sure whatever it was, you’ll be able to get past it a lot more quickly than the thing with your father.”

Doubtful.

“Maybe,” I lie. I pick up my latte and give it a sniff. Nothing weird. I take a sip and then sigh happily. “Oh, I missed this.”

We both share pleased grins.

Sometimes I wonder what Eva would do if I called her Mom. She’s been the mother I never had. My own mother bailed on me. In fact, I don’t even remember what she looked like.

“The reason for us meeting,” Eva says as she opens her purse, “is I wanted to give you something.”

I expect a gift—makeup or jewelry or even money. Eva likes gifts. It’s not any of those things. She passes me what looks like a journal and a handful of pictures inside a gallon-sized freezer bag. I take it from her and frown in confusion.

“When I first moved in with you all, I discovered this in one of the guest rooms.” She waves her manicured hand at me, encouraging me to open it. “I showed Gid and he told me to toss it. Something kept me from obeying.”

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