Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Ava
I’m just out of the shower, barely dressed, when there’s a knock on the door. It must be the food. Thank God. My stomach is practically devouring itself.
“Coming!” I call out, tugging a white baby tee over my head as I walk to the door. When I open it, Eve and Wyn are standing there with matching grins. Eve holds up a paper bag.
“Food delivery,” she says, pushing the bag into my hands.
“Oh, my God,” I practically weep. Taking the bag over to the bed, I immediately start disemboweling it. I pull out a salad bowl, chips, and a bean and cheese burrito. Fuck the salad. I unwrap the burrito and go straight in. “I’m so hungry,” I say, moaning around that first glorious bite.
“Wow, no joke,” Wyn laughs, sitting on the edge of the mattress. Eve takes the bench at the end of the bed.
“We wanted to make sure you were okay after what happened yesterday,” Eve says, smirking. “Though judging by the sounds coming from this room last night, I’d say you’re doing just fine.”
My cheeks heat. “We weren’t—”
“Honey.” Wyn raises an eyebrow, cutting me off. “This place was built a million years ago. The walls aren’t that thick.”
Eve laughs. “At one point, we couldn’t tell if you two were fucking or killing each other. Honestly, it could’ve gone either way.”
I tear off a piece of tortilla and launch it at Eve. It hits her forehead, and we all laugh. Then they lapse into a conversation about how Eve is feeling.
“Why, what’s wrong?” I ask. “Are you sick?”
“Pregnant,” she says, her hand falling to the slight swell of her stomach. “Eleven weeks.”
“Oh!” I’m shocked. I didn’t even notice. “Congrats.”
“Thanks,” she says with a smile.
Now I get it. Maybe that’s why she was so reflective in the kitchen when we first met. And I won’t lie, it gives me a tiny kernel of hope. All the Sacred Sons are seriously psycho, and if Eve can make it work with Christian, then maybe things could work between me and Jackson, too.
There’s just one thing nagging at me…
“Can I ask you guys something off-topic?” I say.
“Yeah,” Eve says, while at the same time, Wyn says, “Shoot.”
I’m only halfway through the burrito when my stomach starts to protest. It’s too much, too fast, after a day of eating nothing. I wrap it up and set it on the nightstand, then shift to face Wyn and Eve, crossing my legs beneath me.
“If I wanted to remember something, let’s say…a repressed memory. How would I go about doing that?” I ask.
Wyn and Eve glance at each other, but it’s Wyn who speaks. “Is this about the night Jackson’s stepdad died?”
Her accuracy catches me off guard. How the hell did she read me so fast?
I shrug. “Maybe.”
“Why don’t you just ask Jackson what happened?” Wyn asks, like it’s really just that simple.
Eve groans. “Oh, come on. You know he’s not going to tell her anything.”
“He might!” Wyn says defensively. “She won’t know until she asks.”
“I’ve already asked him,” I say quickly. “And he wants me to forget about it.”
“See,” Eve says. “Exactly. Like he’s going to explain, in detail, how he murdered his stepdad…” She pauses, her gaze darting to me. “I mean, allegedly. Sorry.”
Wyn falls against the pillows with a sigh. “You were the only other person there, right? If you don’t remember, then I don’t know. You’d have to dig it out of your own brain somehow.”
“Oh,” Eve says, sitting up a little straighter, her eyes lighting up. “You know what? We could try hypnotizing you. We talked about it in my Psych class the other day, and I even saw a video on it.”
“I guess we could try it,” I say.
Right then, Ember walks by the open door, pausing with a raised brow. “Did I just hear something about hypnotism?”
“Uh, yeah,” Wyn says. “We were thinking about hypnotizing Ava. You know, to figure out what happened that morning. With Senator Davis.”
Oh, my God. This suddenly got awkward as fuck.
Eve tilts her head to the side, studying Ember like a puzzle. “Wait…if you’re Jackson’s sister, then Senator Davis would’ve been your stepdad…”
The room goes quiet. Wyn shifts, scratching the back of her neck. None of us knows what to say.
Finally, Ember waves a hand dismissively. “Pfft. Whatever. The guy was a creep anyway.” She sits on the bed. “And if we’re hypnotizing Ava, I’m watching. I’ve always wanted to see someone go under. It’s like, mind control, right?”
Eve groans. “We’re not doing it for entertainment. And, honestly, you might find this trigg—”
“I have zero triggers,” Ember interrupts. “I’m here for the vibes. The mystical energy. The hypnotic, woo-woo magic. And…okay, I’ll admit it, I’m curious about what happened that morning with my stepdad, too.”
I blink at her. “You’re seriously into this?”
“Absolutely,” she says with a little shimmy. “I can feel the energy shift in the room already.”
I glance at Eve. “Are you sure it’s safe, though?”
“I mean, safe-ish.”
“Safe-ish?” I echo.
“We won’t probe too deep. I’ll just…guide you.”
“Wait.” Wyn’s eyes are on me. “You and Jackson are just rekindling things. What if digging into this ruins that? Maybe some boxes are better left closed.”
“Or…” Eve interjects. “Maybe it confirms everything Jackson told you, and it brings you two closer…”
I pull in a deep breath, my mind already made up. “Let’s do it.”
To be honest, I don’t really believe in hypnotism anyway. I’ve watched videos online where people are supposedly hypnotized, and it always looks fake. Like they’re playing along because everyone’s watching.
“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Wyn says.
Eve pulls her phone out and scrolls for a minute before tapping on a video. She watches, nodding occasionally like she’s taking mental notes. After about thirty seconds, she looks up with a smile and way too much confidence. “Alright, I think I got it,” she says.
I glance at Ember and Wyn, who both look as skeptical as I feel.
“Okay, Ava.” Eve sets her phone aside and sits beside me on the bed, eyes intent. “Lie down, get comfortable, and focus on my voice. Can you do that?”
I nod, trying not to laugh.
“Good. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath… hold it. Now let it out slowly.”
I follow along, already feeling my body soften against the bed.
“Now, imagine a staircase in front of you. Ten steps. With each step, you’ll go deeper into relaxation. Ten… nine… eight…”
I picture it, though my thoughts wander to Jackson.
“Three… two… one. You’re now deeply relaxed. Ava, go back to that morning, three years ago. Can you do that?”
My chest tightens. The words are ice in my veins.
“You’re safe,” Eve says, going off my reaction. “Just observe, like a movie. Can you see the kitchen?”
“Yes.” White cabinets, marble counters, early morning light spilling across the sink.
“What’s happening?”
“I’m...at the sink. Washing dishes.” My own voice sounds distant. “I have my earbuds in. I’m listening to—” I pause, listening. “—a podcast about true crime.”
“Okay,” she says soothingly. “Tell me what happens next.”
“He comes up behind me. The senator. I don’t hear him until—” My stomach twists. “Until I feel his hands on my hips, pulling me back against him.”
“You’re safe, Ava. We’re right here with you,” Eve reminds me. “Keep going.”
“I try to push him away, but he’s strong. He pins me from behind. The counter digs into my stomach, and I can’t breathe.” My hand drifts to my throat. “There’s a knife by the sink. I reach for it, and…”
The image floods in, sharp and merciless. “I just want him to stop. I turn, and I feel the knife slide in. Now there’s blood. Everywhere.”
Tears blur my vision.
“He makes this sound, like a gurgle. He stumbles back, and I’m still holding the knife. Blood runs down the handle onto my hand, and…” A sob is torn from my throat. “...he collapses. I can’t move. I can’t think. I can’t do anything but stare at him bleeding out on the white tile.”
Eve’s hand is on my shoulder. “Ava—”
“Then Jackson is there. I don’t know how long I was standing there. Seconds? Minutes? But suddenly he’s there, taking the knife from my hand.”
“He’s saying something, but I can’t hear him.
He pulls me against him, and I rest my head on his chest. Then he’s calling someone.
I don’t know who, but I can feel the vibration of his voice against my cheek.
When he gets off the phone, he tells me—” I choke on the words.
“He tells me I’m going to be okay. That he’ll fix it.
That I need to go upstairs and shower, and he’ll take care of everything. ”
I open my eyes.
Eve, Ember, and Wyn are staring at me, faces pale.
“I killed him,” I whisper. “I killed the Senator. Jackson didn’t do it. I did. But he took the blame. He let everyone think it was him.”
The room spins. Three years. For three years, I’ve been living with a lie. Three years Jackson has been carrying this secret, letting me believe he was the monster, when all along…
“Oh, my God.” I press my hands to my face. “Oh my God, what did I do?”
Ember’s arm comes around my shoulders, but I barely feel it.
All I can see is blood. The knife in my hand. Jackson is taking it from me. Taking all of it from me. Then letting me hate him for something I did…