Slut - Woodruff Jettie - Страница 13

I cleared my throat before speaking. “Did it work, Mi? Did I get hypnotized?”

“Oh yeah. It worked.”

“Did I tell him? About the accident? About my sister?”

“Yes, you did. Come on. I made tea. There’s a new toothbrush on the counter for you.”

“Is it bad? Am I a bad person, Mi?”

Mi tilted her head to the side and smiled. “Do you think you’re a bad person?”

“I mean, I guess I don’t feel like I’m bad. I would never intentionally hurt anyone.”

“You’re not a bad person, Gabby. Far from it. You can watch it while you eat breakfast. I’m going to shower, and then we’ll go find this car.”

I followed Mi out, asking questions to her back while my mind did summersaults. “Izzy’s car? Don’t you think we should try to get a hold of the Walkers? They have to know something.”

“Watch the video first. I’ll be back.”

Mi disappeared with no information. She stepped out, avoiding my questions, and leaving me. Good hygiene came second. The hot tea and the laptop on the counter came first. My teeth could wait. I sipped the sassafras tea as my fingers slid across the keypad, and spit it in the sink, gagging with disgust. I rinsed my cup and filled it with milk, swearing the tea had cayenne pepper in it. Holy smokes. Who on earth puts cayenne pepper in tea? The normal pouch of black coffee caught my eye by the coffee pot, and I made myself at home, fixing a cup of normal morning wake up. I wasn’t sure Mi and I could be friends. She was too damn weird for my blood.

My eyes went to the sound of the meditating room on the screen when I heard the same peaceful music from the night before. I fixed my cup of coffee with one sugar and a splash of cream while I listened to the part I remembered. I was right. I stopped replying by the time Nick had gotten to five. My head dropped to the side and my body relaxed into the floating bed. My hair blew with an oscillating fan. I snorted while I sipped my coffee. And here I thought that was an imaginary breeze. It was a fan. Mi covered me with the same soft blanket I’d woken up with and listened to Nick work a miracle.

“Gabby, can you hear me,” Nick asked, quietly.

“Yes,” I slurred.

“Can you tell me what you were doing the morning you left your house before your accident? Think about your surroundings, sounds, people, a television show, anything that will help your subconscious to remember. Can you do that, Gabby?”

“Yes, I was at home with the girls. Paxton was working from home because of the storm.”

“The storm? Tell me about the storm, Gabby.”

“It was all over the news, a tropical storm, heading right toward us. Paxton was anxious all morning listening to the weather. We were going to leave if it didn’t change courses or die down.”

Nick spoke in a low, hypnotic tone while my voice sounded like I was drunk, a slur spoken slowly. “What happened next, Gabby? Do you remember leaving your house?”

“Yes, I was with my girls. We were watching the sky for the impending storm. I was going to take them with me, but Paxton wouldn’t let me.”

“Where did you go, Gabby?”

I squirmed a little, causing the swinging bed to move when I replied. “I needed to get a few things from the store. A ten-minute trip.”

“What happened next?”

“Paxton bribed them with ice cream and I went to the store.”

“What store did you go to?”

My eyes frowned while my mind thought about it. “I don’t remember.”

“Do you remember meeting your sister? Was she in the store?”

“No,” I replied while my head once again relaxed back to a sleeping position. “She followed me. She was behind me, an old car with strange plates. I turned down a couple streets when I realized who it was. My heart was beating a million miles a minute when I pulled into the bank parking lot.”

“What was your reaction to seeing her?”

“It was—it was strange. At first I didn’t know whether to call her Izzy or Gabby. She called me Gabby first and from that moment on I referred to her as Izzy. I knew we would end up talking about it, about us switching places and all.”

“I’m listening, tell me what happened next, Gabby.”

“We talked about our mother, our crazy mother,” I laughed. “I drove further and further away from my house, ignoring the calls from my husband. I knew he would be angry with me. I had never done anything that big to defy him before, but I couldn’t stop. It felt so good to see her, to talk to her. I couldn’t believe it. She was there. My Clyde. She was right there.”

“Your Clyde? What is your Clyde?” Nick questioned, still using the same dramatic tone.

I explained my mother’s name, Jonnie, and the way she used to introduce us as Jonnie and her Clydes. My voice sounded so happy, speaking of my mom and sister with great love and admiration.

“The wind started to pick up after a bit, but again I ignored it. I wasn’t scared at all, not even of Paxton. My time with my sister meant more to me than Paxton’s wrath and I refrained from listening to my gut. I kept going until we were on a back road. Izzy went first. It was something we used to do with our mom. She sat on the windowsill first, and I followed, driving with my feet, just like my mom used to do. We were barely moving, nothing felt unsafe at all. I had it all under control until I didn’t. I saw the turn up ahead in plenty of time. It all happened so fast after that. My dress was caught on something. I couldn’t reach the pedals. I screamed for Izzy but it was too late. She grabbed the wheel, midair. Our eyes met and I blacked out, hearing the noise in slow motion echoing all around. The sound of metal crunching as my car rolled over the embankment. I thought about one thing before darkness took over.”

“What did you think about, Gabby.”

“My Clydes,” I cried. A tear slid down my face and I wiped it away with the back of my hand. “I thought about leaving Rowan and Phi. They wouldn’t understand this. They needed me.”

Silence filled the air and I continued, feeling every bit of pain I felt that day. “The next thing I remembered was the rain and the wind. My eyes opened to darkness, but not a night time darkness. This was an overcast with heavy clouds, spilling out rain. I had no idea how long I had been there, or what happened. A raging river flowed, rapidly by, extremely close to me. It wasn’t until the lightening lit the sky that I saw Izzy. Her head was to the side and her leg was in an awkward position above her head.

I assessed my own injuries not really feeling anything at all before I called out for her. “Izzy? Izzy can you hear me?”

She didn’t move. One leg was pinned inside the car at her waist and her hair covered her face. I called her name over and over and then I cried. Thirteen years and it was all over in an instant. Just like that, my twin was taken from me again.

“Gabby?” I heard in a gurgle. “Gabby? Where are you?”

“Oh, God, Izzy. I’m right here. Are you okay?”

“I don’t think so. I can’t see, Gabby.”

“That’s because your face is covered, Izzy. It’s just your hair. You’re going to be okay. Someone is going to find us. It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

“Gabby, listen to me. I came for a reason. I need your help.”

“Okay, I’ll help you any way I can. Just stay with me.”

I heard more gurgling and then the sound of her getting sick. “Remember when you asked me if I had a family? I lied. I do, Gabby. He’s almost five.”

I didn’t understand why she would lie to me about having a child. I didn’t understand it at all. I talked about my girls more than anything. Even to total strangers. “Okay, where is he? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to think I only came for your help. I haven’t always been the best mom, but I’m clean for the first time in over a year, and he’s all I think about. You have to go get him, Gabby. Please go get him.”