Chapter 32 She is unique
“That sounds reasonable,” Dad responds Vicky, taking another bite of lasagna before swallowing and setting his fork aside. “Where is it at? ECC?”
I swallow nervously and glance at Bo for support, but he just quirks his eyebrow unhelpfully. “No, it’s actually at the Kappa house,” I say, intentionally keeping it vague.
“Kappa house, Kappa house … Is that the old Victorian house that was converted to student housing down on fifth?” he asks.
“Um, no, it’s the MU Kappa. We’re …”
“No, absolutely not,” Dad cuts me off. My jaw drops in disbelief. “But you just said I could go!”
“I don’t care. You’re not going to an MU party Hanna, and that’s final. I don’t want to hear about that place again. End of discussion.” He grabs his plate and fork and tosses them into the sink before slamming his office door and locking himself in.
I yell out in frustration and look at Bo angrily. “What the fuck is Dad’s problem, Bo? He never lets me do anything! What’s so bad about MU? They’re like us, gifted!”
Bo shakes his head before collecting both of our plates and walking them to the sink. I follow him and lean against the kitchen island as he begins washing the dishes.
“I don’t know, Ames. Dad’s different with you.”
“But why? I get that Mom was murdered, but damnit, I’m not Mom!”
Bo finishes the plates and turns around to face me, leaning against the sink and crossing his arms. “He’s just worried about you, Ames. You’re all he has left of her; you know that.”
“He has you, too!” I protest, but Bo just shakes his head, glancing towards the office before quirking his finger at me.
“C’mon, Ames, follow me.” He leads me downstairs to his basement suite, gesturing toward the couch before grabbing a box from the top of his entertainment system. With a sigh, he sits beside me and hands me the box.
“What’s this?”
“Open it,” he says simply, watching me closely. With a frown, I open the box to find several photos. In the photos is a woman with tanned skin and dirty blonde hair, teal eyes, and a sarcastic smile. My frown deepens as I flip to the next photo. In the picture is the same woman, barefoot with a small child cradled to her chest. The next photo shows a toddler laughing, being chased by the same woman. With a gasp, I realize that the child is Bo. Shakily, I flip to the next photo, dread coursing
through me. The next several photos are various shots of the woman, Bo, and Dad in different smiling variations. Dozens of photos of this beautiful woman with my father and brother, but she’s not the same woman as the one on the photos on my walls.
“Who … who is this, Bo?”
Grimacing, he pulls out an envelope from the bottom of the box and hands it to me. With shaking hands, I pull out more photos, these much more macabre than the others. They’re photos of a crime scene. The woman is sprawled out on the asphalt, the side of her neck mauled as if she was attacked by an animal. I close my eyes and hand the images back to Bo.
“Bo, who was that?”
He looks at me with a sad smile. “That … was my mother. Her name was Antoinette Aleanna. She was Dad’s first wife. I was only three when the attack happened, so I don’t really remember her that much. Your Mom, Ariel Draconis, was the woman who raised me.”
“Those wounds … they …” I can’t voice the words, the thought so horrid in my mind that I race to the bathroom and relieve myself of the night’s dinner. Bo comes into the bathroom and rubs my back soothingly.
“Yeah, they were both attacked by the same group of rogues. They finally caught the guys, but Dad’s convinced they might have missed one or two.”
“Why? Why did they attack them?” Bo shrugs.
“Probably to get to Dad. He’s the most powerful Terran, after all. The motives were never confirmed, but I’m sure the fact that he lost both of his wives in the same manner has something to do with why he’s so overprotective of you. You look like your mom, Ames, so much.”
“I … I understand. Thank you, Bo,” I tell him. After washing my mouth out, I head upstairs in a daze, worry gnawing at the back of my mind.