Page 75 of Memories with Fire

“Yeah, I know,” she retorts, like it’s the most obvious thing. I don’t think it is, though. Quinn doesn’t have many boundaries. “It’s why Hailey’s the only one in the house who’s actually seen my nipple piercings.”

“Let’s keep it that way.”

“Duh, you’re like my brother.” Her eyes roll in my direction. “Now please come out of this mopey fog bullshit and figure out how you’re going to win her back. I’m not sure I can stand another second of either of you.”

My phone rings before I have a chance to answer her, or come up with a plan. Picking it up from where it landed on the bed, my heart leaps with the hope it might be Hailey, only to be disappointed when her name doesn’t flash on the screen. It’s not a number I recognize, either, but the area code is Waco, so I answer it.

“Hello?”

“Hi Luke,” coos Priscylla.

“Priscylla, I’m hanging up,” I tell her, pulling the phone away from my ear. I rarely disrespect a woman by calling her a name, but Priscylla comes close most times I interact with her.

“Luke, wait! Please don’t hang up. I need to tell you something.”

I don’t know why I stop. My lawyer has always advised me to hang up before she says anything more than hello, but there’s something in her voice that tells me to listen and find out what she wants. “What?”

Quinn’s face is a mask of concern as I look at her. Pulling the phone away from my ear, I quickly put it on speaker. Another thing my lawyer advised—if possible, always have a witness.

“I know how distracted you’ve been. Angela told me everything about that Hailey woman. How she broke your heart so many years ago and how you’ve never gotten over her.”

At the sound of Hailey’s name out of Priscylla’s mouth, the air is sucked out of my lungs. I spring up to my feet like that will erase Hailey’s name from Priscylla’s vocabulary. I hate that she knows about Hailey. I hate that she’s seen Hailey, and knows what she looks like.

“Angela doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

“I think she does,” Priscylla tells me as Quinn stands up beside me. “I fixed it, though. It’s my gift to you.”

“What are you talking about?” Fear like I’ve never known spreads through me at a rapid rate, my heart rate kicking into high gear as blood pounds in my ears.

“You don’t need to worry about it anymore, Luke. I made everything better. I took care of her. I just need to make sure our baby is okay, now.”

“Priscylla! Do not do anything to her. Do you hear me?” I yell at the phone, causing Quinn to grab my arm, fear reflected back at me when I meet her eyes. The line goes dead then, the call disconnecting. “No. No, no, no.”

Then Liam’s ramming a shoulder into the door of the room, coming around the corner too quickly to stop his full momentum. “Nate just got a call. It’s about Hailey.”

CHAPTER 24

HAILEY

All clear to work?Check.

Decisions about Luke? Check.

My mom? Well, that’s a work in progress.

Fresh out of my third therapy session with Dr. Rinkins, and high on the progress I made today, I’m practically skipping up the stairs to the second level of my townhouse after dumping my coat and purse at the front door. I’m humming the last tune I heard in my car as I cross the threshold to my bedroom, so I don’t see it coming.

One second there’s a whoosh through the air, and the next, the world goes black.

CHAPTER 25

HAILEY

Boom.Boom. Boom.

A drum beats steady inside my brain, and I groan, turning my head to try and get away from it. The thump follows my movement, growing in intensity, making me feel nauseous. When I try to bring my hand up to rub my temple, I meet resistance, but I don’t understand why.

God, my brain feels like I’m trudging through mud. All I understand is the horrible boom, boom, boom making me feel ill.

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