Page 24 of Ghost Hunted

Besides, nothing could have made me forget her. No amount of drugs, no amount of torture. She’s imprinted herself into my cells, into my DNA. How can you forget the fabric of your own soul?

And just like that, anger surges up again. Anger that’s cut short by Piper’s words.

“What about me?” asks Piper.

Lia shakes her head helplessly. “Don’t you think I would have found you before if I had known? I didn’t know. I think I lived… a different life. I was a different person.” She flushes under my gaze. “And when the memories came back, it was so strange. At first, I didn’t think I was remembering real things, only dreaming. The first time I saw a vision of you, Logan… or when I heard my children crying… I couldn’t understand any of it. My mother wouldn’t tell me a thing. But the visions started after I missed that dose. And they only intensified as time wore on. By the time my father found us, I was a prisoner to them. Until I realized it wasn’t a prison; my mind was finally setting me free. But until you showed up here, I wasn’t entirely sure.”

Piper rises, sitting on the armrest of Lia’s chair before hugging her again.

“You were sure enough that you didn’t want me to know,” I accuse her.

It’s just like how it was all those years ago. I’m furious, and I want to be. I resent her for making that anger impossible to hold onto. She destroyed my life. She doesn’t get a free pass.

And yet, Piper is holding onto her as if she’s the victim, and even Quill looks like he feels bad for her. And I didn’t think Quill had it in him to feel bad for or about anyone, except Piper.

“With the visions, I…” Lia swallows with difficulty. “I saw a lot of things. Things I couldn’t make sense of. Moments where you seemed to love me, Logan, but also, moments where…”

This time, when tears bubble out of her eyes, I can’t say I’m hard, but, but somehow, I do want to lick them from her. And then bury my face in the hair that remains. From here, I can barely see the bald patches, but Piper’s noticed them.

“It’s like a grey-out,” continues Lia. “Just like you said, Aurora. Or Piper. I don’t know how I should call you now.”

“You can call me however you want,” says Piper softly. She marks a beat, then adds, “I’ve been Piper my whole life.”

“Your whole life,” repeats Lia softly. “Yes, that’s right. You have had a whole life without me, haven’t you? Piper—I’ll try to get used to it.”

Piper holds onto her tightly. “I’m going to have a whole other life with you… mama.”

I grit my teeth so hard. “Piper will have the life I decide she can have, with the people I decide are allowed in it.”

“Logan!” she protests. “You don’t own me.”

“No, he doesn’t,” says Quill, glowering at me as he pushes himself off the wall once more and places a possessive hand on Piper’s shoulder. “I do.”

Piper rolls her eyes while Lia blinks hers, fog swirling in her pupils.

“Please continue, mama,” Piper urges her.

“Well…” Lia hesitates. “The moment I heard your voice on the phone, everything came rushing back. I knew it was true. I had a daughter… you. And yet, I’d been a prisoner to my mind for so long that I couldn’t really believe it until you showed up. And then…” She keeps her eyes averted from me. “I was so scared of him. Because I remembered everything. It’s not that I didn’t want to see you, Logan. I just needed time. Time to accept things. Time for myself, too, because I’d been imprisoned for eighteen years, and I wanted to know what it felt like to be free. And I just knew…” Another strangled sob. “I just knew that when you found me, you’d… you’d kill me.”

Piper glares at me, and I fist my hands by my side, still lost in a turmoil of conflicting emotion.

“But he didn’t kill you,” she murmurs, turning back to her mother.

“Yes.” Lia lets out a sad laugh. “Maybe that’s worse. Maybe I wish… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t say that.”

“No, you shouldn’t,” I say coldly. “Not in front of your daughter.”

“I can handle it,” lashes out Piper. “I’m an adult. And you’re cruel, Logan. She’s hurting, she’s a victim. I can’t believe you’re treating her like this.”

I turn toward the window, resting my head once more on the cold pane. I don’t know what to do anymore. I just don’t. I try to access my anger again, but I know Piper’s right. Lia’s the victim, but…

But how can I possibly forgive her for stealing all those years from me?

Even though I’m beginning to realize it wasn’t her fault.

“Is it…” Lia’s voice grows shaky. “Is it too late, Logan?”

I don’t answer. I don’t answer, because she should know.