Prey Drive by Jen Stevens
Chapter 54
the wolf
the novelty of being together again, my mom and Sienna begin rattling off what happened from their limited perspective. And none of it seems plausible.
According to them, less than two months have passed since the original date Sienna died. I’ve probably asked them for the date ten times by now, still shocked when they say a day nearly ten months earlier than I remember—dating my attack to the exact time Sienna would have been killed. My father, who is still a workaholic bastard, got into a fight with me on the night I was brought into the hospital because I told him I'd never join The Order. When they didn't hear from me for a week, my mother checked my apartment and found out that Eliza had also been trying to get a hold of me. She and Sienna filed the police report that afternoon.
That's it. That's all they can give me.
I feel like I've been dropped into an upside-down reality. One I would have fucking killed to have a year ago, after Sienna supposedly died. But I'm struggling to find relief or happiness when the only person I've ever been able to find any of that in appears to be missing from this version of my life.
I don't mention any of this to them. In fact, I'm careful not to speak of anything I've gone through in—what I feel like—the past year of my life. The last thing I need is them trying to get my head checked and thrown into a mental facility because I'm spewing bullshit about a parallel reality where my sister is dead, my dad tried to kill me, and I went on a murdering rampage.
When my father arrives, there's none of the resentment and malice in his eyes that was there the last time we saw each other in his office. Nothing that would allude to the fact that he was the one who shot me. That he left me for dead. He even apologized for putting The Order before us, claiming these last few weeks have given him time to reflect and promising that he’ll drop my initiation for a while.
I can't tell if he's just a really good actor, or if this is somehow another mind fuck.
It takes me two days to ask about Jovie. In that time, the doctors have slowly unhooked me from my IVs and monitors, dwindling them down to just one for pain management. They're talking about sending me home in the next couple of days, and the thought of going back to that penthouse with all the memories she and I made in our short-lived time together, only to find out that she didn't come along with me into this odd reality, nearly kills me.
But I hate not knowing. So, I wait until it's late, well after my parents have gone home for the night and Sienna is preparing to leave. If I told anyone about my secret affair with my little lamb, it would be Sienna. She knows everything about me.
“Did I mention a woman named Jovie in the weeks leading up to my attack?” I ask her, deciding to jump right in instead of beating around the bush.
Sienna stops packing her purse to think for a moment, her head tilted toward the ceiling as she tries to recall. “Jovie? No, I think I would remember that name.”
My shoulders sag forward, all hope lost. She’s still gone. My Stardust didn't come with me.
The crushing disappointment that flows in with that realization nearly makes my heart break in half. My soul longs for its missing counterpart—so close, yet ions away.
“Why do you ask? Do you think she's connected to what happened?” Her voice raises as her suspicions grow. Suddenly, she's been hit with a jolt of energy as the possibility that I've somehow remembered any detail from that night grows more plausible.
Shaking my head, I look up at her with a strained smile, ignoring the pain radiating in my chest. “No, I was just wondering.”
“Who is she?” Sienna falls onto the bed beside me, her eyes softening.
“No one, I suppose.” Not anymore.
“The look on your face tells me she's someone.” Patting my arm, she levels me with her bright green eyes—eyes I never thought I'd see again outside of my own reflection. “I know you, Bash. You never talk about anything with that look on your face unless it has to do with work or… well, that’s it. Whoever it is must be important. You can tell me. I'm here for you—no judgment.”
“It's a confusing situation,” I explain vaguely, looking away so she knows I won't be elaborating any further.
Sienna sighs in defeat, and then her hand raises to play with her locket—a nervous tick she's always had. Except, the jewelry hanging off her neck is not a locket. It's the first time I've noticed the simple, round pearl that sits perfectly against her chest.
“Where is grandma's locket?” I ask her.
I can tell she's taken back by the question and the seemingly abrupt change of subject, but she still rolls her eyes in frustration, dropping her hand into her lap dejectedly.
“Oh, you must not have heard I lost it a couple months ago… probably right when all this happened. Went to bed with it on and woke up to find it missing. I've torn through our whole apartment looking for it. Mom has been pissed at me.”
It's… gone? Disappeared into thin air, right around the time I seemed to have jumped into some sort of alternate reality and gave it to Stardust.
That can't be a coincidence.
“I'm really glad you're still here, Bash.” Sienna's voice softens, her blonde hair falling over her like a curtain between us, protecting her from allowing me to see her in such a rare, vulnerable state.
“All those weeks you were missing… it was really hard for me to imagine what I would do without you. I dreamt of you every single night—some of the wildest dreams I've ever had. I would have been destroyed if things ended badly.”
I wrap my arms around her shoulders, squeezing her into my chest and she burrows her face against me, hiding it from view as small, quiet sobs wrack through her body. Placing my lips at the crown of her head, I assure her, “None of that matters now. I'm not going anywhere.”
And my broken, despondent heart breaks all over again as that reality settles in. I'm here, not there.
Tears burn behind my eyes as I remember living the nightmare she was so afraid to face. As the faint sorrow and despair take hold of my being again, just for a moment. Just to show me how horrible it was and remind me how many times I wished for this exact thing. To hold my sister—my other half—in my arms again.
And as much as my soul aches for its mate, I have to be grateful that I at least get this. At least Sienna gets a chance to live, and I get the opportunity to hold her again.