Page 34 of The Two Last Moments

“I just wish I knew who did it and why I was in West Oaks at all.”

“You don’t remember anything?Truly?”

I shake my head. I already explained about the dissociative amnesia, but it’s hard for people to understand, including me.

Her expression darkens. “I don’t know why you went to West Oaks. But if I had to guess? I’d say it was the fault of that boyfriend of yours.”

Danny looks up sharply.

“Boyfriend?” I choke out.

“I only ever knew him as Cam. You and I…” Kathy sighs. “Well, it’s a long story, sweetheart. We had our ups and downs, as all families do. But then,hecame into the picture. I thought Cam was bad news from the moment you brought him around. He was older. Controlling. You’d been living with me and Ned, but within weeks, you up and moved out. Went to live with him. Ned and I were, well, upset. You and I fought over it. You don’t know how I regret that.”

I feel Danny watching me. But I can’t look at him.

“I didn’t hear from you for months, and I’m sure it was my fault. But then you reappeared on our doorstep. You had…bruises.”

My shoulders slump.

“Ned and I were overjoyed to see you, thinking it was all over with you and that man. But it became a cycle. You and Cam would break up, then get back together. After a while, we stopped hearing from you at all, and I think Cam wasn’t letting you contact us.” Her voice waivers. “If you were in trouble and wanted out, I wish you had come to us. All we’ve ever wanted is to be there for you.”

I think about those old bruises. The healed fractures the doctor saw on the X-ray. Bile rises in my throat.

“You think that’s why I came to West Oaks? I was running away from him?”

“Has to be. I don’t know the exact details. But we can figure it all out if you just come home, Lark. Please. We just want you home.”

“What about my parents? Where are they? You told the detective they live on a commune.”

She sighs. “Oh, honey, they passed in a car accident when you were eighteen. That’s why you’ve lived with me and Ned since then. I can explain it all later, but just know that we miss you. You have so many friends here who miss you, too. We just want you back.”

We don’t talk long that first night. I’m too overwhelmed. I can’t even talk to Danny about it. After he heard Kathy say that stuff about my abusive boyfriend? It’s too much. It’s justsurreal. Like I’m hearing stories about someone else’s life.

The next day, Kathy and I talk alone, without Danny. I ask her, “Will you tell me more about my life? Do I have a job?”

“You tried out a few semesters of college, but it wasn’t for you.” We’re video-calling again, and she smiles sadly. “You work for a florist now. Technically, I think it’s off the books. But that’s how I knew you were missing. Because I would drive by your work most days to check on you, and suddenly you weren’t there. The second day, I went inside to ask, and they said you’d disappeared.”

I’m a florist. No wonder my tats are all botanical, and I love looking at the plants in Nina’s backyard. That’s not so bad, is it? Working with flowers all day?

“Do you want to see your bedroom?” she asks. “We kept it just the same, in case you decided to come home again.”

Everything is brightly colored, and there are pictures of me tacked to a bulletin board. There are none with me and Kathy together, but I’m smiling with people I assume are friends. My chest aches when I see that.

“Who are those people I’m with in the pictures?”

“High school classmates,” Kathy says. “You lost touch with them, and I don’t know your current friend group. You never brought them to meet me. But when you come home, we’ll be able to start fresh.”

It’s starting to sink in. I really do have people who love me. They want me back.

I was only supposed to stay in West Oaks until I found my family. That just happened faster than I expected.

* * *

On the day I leave,Danny takes my bag out to the Charger. “You sure about this?” he murmurs. “Completely sure?”

“Yes. She’s got a whole plan. Kathy’s going to find a psychologist for me to work on getting my memories back.”

“What about keeping you safe? That boyfriend she mentioned?”

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