Page 56 of Mimic
“Hey, Indie, are you getting anything done today?”
Sadie, Simon’s sister, came out of the back room. I noticed immediately the black eye she tried to hide with makeup.
“No, not today,” I said, my eyes locked on her face.
Kytten reached over and grabbed my hand. When I looked in her direction, she mouthed,Not now.
If not now, then when? Once she was beaten so badly that she ended up in the hospital? Once she was dead? Why hadn’t anyone helped her? I glared at Kytten. She was a fucking Nyght Nymph. It was her job to help women like Sadie.
Kytten ignored me for the rest of her appointment. It was probably for the best, with how angry I now was. When she was done, I stormed outside and waited in the car for her.
As soon as she slammed the door closed, she turned in her seat to face me.
“Don’t fucking look at me like that.”
“You—”
“Shut your fucking mouth. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that it’s my job to help women like Sadie, and you’re fucking right. But they have to want the help. Sadie doesn’t. I can’t force her to leave him, and as much as I and the Silver Shadows want to, we can’t kill him. Simon won’t let us. He knows his sister better than anyone, and he has given us strict instructions to wait until she asks for our help.”
“I’m sorry. I just...”
Kytten took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I felt like shit, like I’d ruined the first girl date I’d ever had in my life.
“I get it, okay. I know you have secrets. We all do. But you can’t let what happened to you rule your every thought and emotion.”
I sat quietly, not sure what to do next, when Kytten reached over and grabbed my hand.
“I meant it when I said we could help you. Whatever it is, whatever you went through, there are people here that will help. Haizley is an amazing therapist. She’s not mine, but Cash loves her, and she has helped him with his grief so much.”
“So, I should see a therapist, but not you?” I snarked.
“I said she wasn’t my therapist, not that I didn’t have one. Mine lives in New York. He came here to work with me, and if he hadn’t...”
Her words trailed off, and I wondered what she had gone through. I’d seen the scars on her legs.
“If it hadn’t been for Dr. Dunaway, I don’t know if I’d still be here.”
I looked through the window to my right. Could I talk to Haizley? Could I talk to Kytten? Could I talk to anyone about what happened to me and the others? They knew about the Trick Pony. I was sure they knew it was more than just a sex club where consenting adults went to get their freak on. But did they know the true horrors of what went on there?
“Look, Indie, I want us to be friends. The other old ladies are great, but they’re all older than I am. The closest one to my age is Ellie, and she’s married with three kids.”
I didn’t correct her assumption that I was closer to her age. What was the point? Mimic knew I was younger. Even Gunner suspected I’d lied. It felt as though the carefully crafted reality Apollo created for me was unraveling.
“Besides, I’m convinced you’ll be my sister.”
I swung my head around and gaped at her, my mouth hanging open like a fish out of water.
Kytten laughed. “I might have been separated from my brother for ten years, but we’re twins. No one knows him like I do. And I see the way he looks at you.”
“I don’t even know what to say to you right now.”
It was true. I was at a loss for words. Not just about what she’d said about Mimic, but the way she just flipped a switch and went from angry at me to concerned, and now to happiness.
“You could say you’ll buy me a coffee to make up for thinking I was a bitch who was leaving Sadie out to dry.”
I slumped back in my seat as Kytten laughed again.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to me too.”
