Chapters (47)
But she didn’t do that. And her admission broke Amelia’s heart.
Amelia didn’t hate her, though. She couldn’t. They’d been through too much.
Lauren did.
It was obvious in her expression. Her body language. Amelia was scared of what Lauren might do. Whatever she was planning, Amelia had to stop it. She believed her mom’s story. It seemed entirely plausible that this drug addict married to an abusive con artist would hand over her baby to her best friend—a woman with a stable life and a husband. Besides, Lauren had shared a lot about her childhood with Amelia. It sounded horrendous.
Regardless of the circumstances, whether her mom was telling the truth or not, Whitney had saved her from that. Shouldn’t she be grateful?
The thing that upset her the most was the lying. The secrets. Honesty had always been so important to her mom. She demanded it of Amelia. Turns out, Whitney had been the biggest liar of all. That was the main reason she couldn’t just go home with her mom right now. When she said she needed space, she meant from everyone. But when Lauren brought up the sisters’ trip again, she knew she had no choice but to go, especially after she threatened going to the police. Amelia may have spent a lot of time and energy being mad at her mom, but she wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. The thought of her locked in a jail cell caused her heart to ache, her mouth to fill with bile.
And that’s why she’d sent the text.
While Lauren was pleading her case for the sisters’ trip, she discreetly pulled out her phone, typed two words.
Red jacket.
Pressed Send.
Then she’d turned Find My Friends back on.
Lauren may have thought that both Amelia and Whitney were giving in, but she was dead wrong. It had always been the two of them. Mother/daughter. A team. A partnership. No one was tearing them apart.
Not even her so-called sister.
Her mom had always had her back. Now it was her turn to have her mom’s.
Peering over her shoulder, she caught the silhouette of her mom standing in the middle of the cemetery. Her hair flew around her face, caught in the wind. Smiling, she turned back around, warmth filling her. She had to keep Lauren close until she could figure out how to get rid of her for good. But she knew that no matter where they went, her mom wouldn’t be far behind them.
Next to her, Lauren threaded her arm through Amelia’s. Her face beamed as if she’d already won.
Amelia grinned back. Pretending. Maybe she was more like her mom than she’d thought.