Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

Taylor

“You’re really going?” Isabel leans against my door frame, watching me throw things in my bag, her expression concerned.

It's been one day and Dolores has been helping me book flight tickets and getting me some newly issued ID. She had a mysterious expression on her face when she said she had to go get some stuff for me. I hope she's not up to her old tricks again. Or maybe I'm just a little bit paranoid when it comes to her. The plan is for me to leave in the dead of the night. 

“I have to find my dad,” I respond. “Lowenstein knew who I was. It’s no coincidence that he met my father so many times unless it was about the Blood Moon Hybrid. He lied to me."

"To be fair, you never asked him," Isabel points out.

I give her a nasty look, "Whose side are you on?"

"There's no side here to pick," Isabel replies, calmly. "But maybe don't go in there, guns blazing. That's all I'm saying."

A mean comment is on the tip of my tongue, but I swallow it, realizing she's just worried about me. Isabel and I have fallen into an easy rhythm since we got here. I've been helping her train her own powers, so we do spend a lot of time together. We also watch movies together and have developed a somewhat cordial relationship. She was at my throat from the moment we first met, but after I stopped the Director from kicking her out when she outed me to the entire camp, she's been treating me like I'm almost human.

It's a nice change, but she wouldn't understand my desperation to find my father.

"Can you get the envelope from Dolores's room?" I ask her. "It's on her side table."

"Which one?"

"Never mind," I roll my eyes. "I'll get it myself."

I've never been to Dolores's room, staying clear of it, but as I open the door, I find myself staring at the simplicity of it. There's a single bed there and some sparse furniture. If I were to compare, mine and Isabel's rooms are nicer. 

Finding this odd, I head to the side table near the window, but I don't find the envelope of cash she had told me would be there. Opening the drawer below, I find the yellow envelope. I pick it up and see a framed photograph below. It looks like three friends.

I recognize a younger version of Dolores. She looks pretty in this, full of life, her eyes smiling. She doesn't have those dark bags under her eyes like she has now. The man standing next to her is my dad. I stare at him. He's laughing in the picture, looking so young. And there's a woman, he has his arm around. She has blonde hair, green eyes, and she's smiling.

My heart races at the sight of her. 

Who is she?

Why is she so familiar?

My fingers trace over her features. I have no recollection of her, but my heart is aching at the sight of her, my throat tightening with emotion.

"That's your mother, Elise," comes Dolores's quiet voice from behind me. "You wouldn't recognize her."

I whip around, staring at her, "What? My mother?"

I look down at the picture again, "She's dead, right? She died when I was born."

Dolores gives me a look that is filled with a strange sadness, "No, she didn't. You have a sister, remember?"

I blink, slowly, "Yeah. That's right. Jane."

Dolores presses her lips together as if she wants to say something, but stops herself. 

I look up at her, "Where is she? My mom? Dad never talked about her."

When she doesn't say anything, my voice turns sharp, "I have a right to know, Dolores. I've been through hell and back. The truth isn't going to kill me. Whatever reasons my dad had for constantly lying to me, they don't matter anymore."

Dolores studies me for a few long seconds, before sighing, "I disagreed with what they did to you, if it matters. I didn't think messing with your memory was a good idea."

"My memory?" I give her a confused look.

Dolores opens her mouth and then snaps it shut, looking apprehensive, "Whatever seal they used for your memory, I don't know how much I can tell you without harming you. Those memories can be recovered by either the person who cast that seal on you, or you can recover them yourself. I'm not very educated on memory manipulation magic. But I know it's dangerous."

I can't help the wave of anger which rises within me, "Why has everything been decided for me by people who didn't even choose to stick around?!"

Dolores looks away from me, "Like I said, I disagreed. But both James and Elise were desperate to protect you and your sister."

I let out a shaky breath, feeling the bed vibrate under me, my powers fluctuate, "Fine."

My voice is steadier, "What can you tell me?"

Dolores sits down in the chair across from me, "The marriage between your father and I isn't real."

My eyes widen in shock, "Come again."

Dolores winces, "We never got married. We have a fake marriage certificate. He approached me, asking for my help, and I - I knew both your parents Taylor. After they graduated from Mistfall Wildnerness Camp, they were assigned to an area where I was working as an intelligence agent. I figured out who they were, and they helped me trace my own ancestor. I love your Dad, but I'm not in love with him. Your parents were very close friends. The night you were born, I was there. I helped Elise through her pregnancy."

I feel sick to my stomach for some reason, "Then why were you so horrible to me after Dad died?"

Dolores lowers her head, her voice filled with guilt, "They were the only family I had, Taylor. When you were born, news of you being the Blood Mon Hybrid was leaked. Your parents sealed your powers, but it was too late. They had to part ways after what happened to your sister. I -" She clenches and unclenches her jaw, "I lost my family that day, Taylor. And I blamed you for it. More so, when I thought James was dead. I saw all that blood in that alleyway, and all I could think was that I couldn't even hold on to him. I know you lost your father, but my own grief made me hold you responsible. In my head, I thought that if you had never been born, none of this would have happened. After you came back last time, I realized how wrong I was. You were so different from your usual bitter self, and it hit me that you were all I had of Elise and James, and I - I had nearly destroyed you. James had asked me to protect you, and all I did was hurt you over and over again for a crime you never committed. I should have been the adult and focused on you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for a lot of things."

My hands are clenched on my lap, my fist so tight that my knuckles are white, "It was my fault what happened to my parents?"

"No!" Dolores's head shoots up, horrified. "Never! Nobody can run from their destiny, Taylor. You were born because you had to be born. There are other people to blame for what happened to your parents. But never you! I didn't mean-"

"I know what you mean," I murmur, feeling weary all of a sudden. Everywhere I turn, I learn something more horrifying about myself. If I had been in Dolores's shoes, would I have blamed the child as well? I don't know the answer to that. A part of me feels outraged by the very thought. But then I know how mad grief tends to make a person.

"It's okay," I finally say, looking at Dolores. "I'm glad we sorted this out."

She looks a little wary of my easy acceptance, "That's it? You can shout at me if you want."

I give her a wan smile, "I'd rather not. I'm supposed to be keeping my emotions in check."

Dolores watches me for a long moment, "Your sister, she was the carbon copy of Elise, but you? You have Elise's smile and her eyes, but you have your father's charm. He drew people to him naturally."

It hurts when she talks about the mother I don't remember. It's like a physical pain inside my chest, a throbbing sensation of loss. I don't even remember her voice. Did she resent me? Did she love me? What were we like as a family?

I have so many questions, but I know Dolores might not answer them. However, I know somebody who might be able to.

My father. 

I tilt my head back, breathing in and out, trying to calm myself. And then I look at her, not my stepmother, but my parents' friend, "What about Jane? Where is she? Is she dead?"

A strange expression flits over Dolores's face, and she gives me a small smile, "No. No, she's alive and well."

"Can I see her?"

She parts her lips. a tormented look in her eyes, and her voice is heavy, "You will see her, Taylor. But I can't tell you where she is. If I tell you the truth, your memories will never be able to retrieved."

"And my mom?"

Her face turns gloomy, "I don't know."

I nod. 

All of this is not easy to listen to, and it's going to take me some time to absorb everything I've just found out.

"Can I keep this?" I ask Dolores, picking up the picture frame. 

She smiles at me, a sad smile, "Of course."

Nothing else is left to be said between us, and I head to my room. I pass the living room and see Isabel sitting there, watching TV. She looks over her shoulder when I walk by, "You okay?"

I glance at her, "You heard?"

She turns her eyes back to the television, "You guys weren't exactly whispering."

She taps the edge of her ear, "Twenty-twenty hearing, remember?"

I just begin walking away and she calls out my name, "I changed my mind."

"About what?" I pause, turning to look at her.

"About letting you go alone."

I blink, "You're not coming with me."

"And how do you plan to stop me?" Isabel retorts. "The Director said we have to stick together and you need somebody to watch your back."

"She's right," Dolores's voice comes from the stairs as she walks down. "You two need to stick together. And I made preparations for the both of you."

I stare at the two of them, and my eyes narrow when they exchange a look.

These two have been in cahoots all along!