Page 155 of Memories Like Fangs
The moment her hazel eyes that mirrored my own locked onto me, I barely had time to brace. She didn’t walk. She didn’t even run. She rushed at me with her full supernatural speed. Mama crushed me into her chest with breathtaking force, like she could fix everything wrong with my life with her sheer will.
“Oh, Quinn, my baby!” She cried. Mom was actually a few inches shorter than me even in heels, but there was something about being in her arms that made me shrink. Her fingers tangled in my curls like she wanted to anchor herself to a reality where her worst fears could never come true. “Oh, my goodness! Quinn, my perfect sweet angel! I thought—I didn’t know—I just?—”
She broke down then, sobbing openly against my neck. Her tears soaked through my sweater to the point where I could feel the wetness on my skin, but I didn’t care. I wrapped my arms around her, trying to physically hold her together as much as I could. Hearing her cry and feeling her shaking shoulders made my own tears begin to sting. It was so heartbreaking. I never wanted to do anything to cause my mom this much pain. She had been through so much and done so much for me.
If anyone else caused her this much grief, I would do them the favor of relieving them of their spine.
Behind me, I heard Cody and Cole groan together. Nat muttered in a pained voice. “Mother, can youpleasetake it down a notch? The boys are still kind of recovering?—”
“Recovering?!” Aunt Carol-Kay almost yelled. “I thought I lost all of you, and I’m finding out that I wasright? What happened to you?!”
“Carol-Kay, go easy on them. They can’t tell you if they can’t breathe!” Aunt Tess said calmly. “Why don’t we just be happy that they are home?”
Suddenly, Mom shoved me back, breaking our embrace. Before I could react, she pinched me so hard with her manicured nails that I swore she drew blood. I knew my body was still sensitive from healing, but that would have hurt even if I were at 100%.
“Ouch! What the fucking hell, Ma?!” I cried out, stumbling back while rubbing the spot. The sting was sharp and hot. I could feel the bruise already starting to form there.
“That’sfor disappearing for weeks without telling me anything, you little punk!” She answered, throwing a slap that I managed to dodge. Mama kept trying to hit me as she kept going. “Have you lost your ever-loving mind, Quinn January Garcia? What thefuckhappened? Where have you been? You leave before Christmas, and then I barely get to say two words to youfor a month!Andyou don’t even get me a gift when you return?! Where did I go wrong with raising you? Tell me, where I failed as a mother to make you act like a damn fool!”
“Ididget you a gift! Byrd did, too. They are in my bag—Ouch!” I said, just as Mama landed a hard punch on my bicep.
“I don’t care about the stupid gift! I was worried sick about you!”
“Then, why bring up the gift—Ow! Can you pleasestop hittingme? I’m going to explain everything, I swear!”
“Don’t swear to me, Quinn Garcia!”
“Mama,please?—”
“Hey, where’s Cooper?”
Aunt Carol-Kay’s question sliced through the chaos like a guillotine. That’s a lie, actually. It wasn’t really a question. It was more like a trigger, a loaded one.
The room fell quiet so suddenly that it had my ears ringing. Everything stopped. Everyone stilled, frozen. The slap that followed wasn’t a physical hit, but it felt that way. There was a pressure behind my eyes, a quaking stutter in my ribs. Guilt and trepidation, hot and dense, flared like one of my wounds had ripped open once more.
None of it escaped my mother’s notice. Mama and I had always had a connection. She knew me like a recipe that she had made so many times, the cookbook page was faded and smudged. She saw the shift, didn’t miss the way I stopped breathing because the air felt like it was sucked out of the room. Her gaze searched my face, and she straightened gradually, as if her instincts were catching up faster than her mind could.
“Quinn,” Mama said carefully, like she was treading on a cracking frozen lake. “What’s wrong?”
I swallowed deeply, the weight of the news sitting heavy on my chest. When I spoke again, it came out softer than I meant. “I think you all should sit down.”
My mom’s brow furrowed. Her eyes scanned my face that looked so close to her own for any sign of what I was about to say, “Quinn, you’re scaring me. Baby, what’s going on?”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I guided them through the dining room and into the sitting room, the most formal of our two living rooms. Without being asked, Nat grabbed a full bottle of Macallan and a stack of additional glass tumblers. Once we arrived, Mama and Aunt Tess sat on the largest of the couches with Cody and Cole leaning on either side. Aunt CK took the loveseat. After she had poured generous fingers for everyone, including topping off my, Cody’s, Cole’s, and her own empty glass with whiskey, Nat sat cross-legged on the floor near thecoffee table. I stood in front of them all at the fireplace with my arms crossed to hide my shaking fists.
It was time to tell the truth or let it destroy us. I wasn’t sure yet what outcome I preferred.
They listened as I told them everything.
Father and his trophies made of dragons he had hunted.
Byrd’s mother being one of them.
Byrd killing Uncle Harry in self-defense.
Cooper killing Byrd’s father and Aunt Max out of revenge.
Zaria being used by Lilah.
