Page 70 of Hellfire

I snickered while peeling off my clothing, then stepped into the shower with a blissful sigh. It had taken two weeks to get to the point where I wasn’t hit with revulsion every time the shower conjured memories of scrubbing my skin raw.

Today, I rinsed out my hair without Avery keeping his silent vigil over me. Today, I soaped and rinsed without falling into a daydream while watching the suds whirlpool down the drain. Today, despite breaking initially, I’d reclaimed a lost part of me. Today, for the first time since returning from Cape Town and with Avery’s help, I felt empowered and ready to find more of my missing fragments.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Hallie

—One Month Later—

“Nervous?” Avery asked, pulling to a stop at the curb outside Mom’s place in Bakersfield.

“A little.” Trepidation thrummed in my chest and lassoed my lungs to the point where I had trouble drawing a full breath.

Out of all the obstacles in my recovery, this was the one that weighed on me the most. My physical wounds had long since healed. My body had grown stronger each day, as had my mind. The emotional scars had faded a little further with each counseling session with Lorna, and my mental blocks were barely existent now thanks to Avery’s tender yet constant persistence.

The road to today hadn’t been easy or straightforward. There had been setbacks and bad days, but Avery was always there, waiting and ready to rebuild me without judgement or impatience.

I hadn’t seen Arnauld since the day the team extracted me. Coming face-to-face with him today was part of the process of finding peace with my recent past. If his relationship with Mom lasted, there would be no avoiding him.

Avery’s little squeeze to my thigh brought me back inside his truck. “They’ll be nervous too, babe. And I’m right here with you,” he promised.

I offered a shaky smile and nodded. “Get this over with?”

He smirked. “Best way to tackle it.”

He jumped from the cab as I opened my door, and he was at my side in time to help me set foot on the sidewalk.

“You got this, Hellcat.”

He dropped a kiss onto my expectant lips and our fingers scissored. My heart pounded so damn hard as we walked hand-in-hand to Mom’s front door, then infinitely faster when it whipped open.

“Hallie!” Mom cried and opened her arms.

“Hi Mom.” I rushed into them and hugged her tight while willing the unexpected tears to stay on lockdown.

“I’ve missed you.”

I sniffed and pulled back. “I’ve missed you too. You’re all set up now and happy?”

Mom’s light brown eyes danced with happiness as she nodded. “Very. Even happier now.” She squeezed my hand and smiled through her own shimmering tears.

While I still wasn’t over the moon about her and Arnauld, to see my mom happy after years of despair at my father’s hands created peace in my heart.

Avery stepped forward and hugged Mom. “You’re looking well, Trudy.”

“Thank you, Avery. It’s lovely to see you again. And it appears you’ve been taking good care of my daughter.”

He grinned proudly. “Every day and the best I can, ma’am.”

Their continued conversation faded when a scuffing shoe in the background caught my hearing. My attention shifted from Mom to Arnauld as he cautiously emerged through the front door with a small, tense smile on his mouth.

Our eyes locked and my pulse froze. I couldn’t blink. Breathe. Speak or move. His appearance took me back to Cape Town and brought all the memories surging to the surface.

“Hallie,” came Avery’s voice, complete with a gentle touch on my lower back.

“I’m ah… I’m okay,” I murmured on autopilot.

Mom stepping into my line of sight severed my focus with Arnauld. She ran her cool thumbs across my frowning forehead.

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