Cruel Kisses (It's Just High School #2) - Thandiwe Mpofu Page 0,35
done…”
“What?” I roar. Her father did this to her? He beat her so hard that she lost her memory? That she lost herself?
“Julian, son,” Dad starts, that pity in his eyes now turning my stomach until I start feeling sick. “Nancy said she doesn’t know, but I’m afraid with all this trauma happening of late, it might bring it all back to her.”
Fuck! I need to find her. Goddamn this all to hell.
“That good for nothing asshole did this to her, huh?” I growl then put the damn file down on his desk and turn to leave but he stops me.
“No, don’t you dare, Julian!”
“Fuck off, Dad.”
“Son, I swear if you lay hands on that man, everything I’ve been working to do for the past few years will all be for nothing.”
“What the fuck do you expect me to do then?” I grit out, turning around to look at my father. “Just sit here while she’s fucking missing and he did this sick fuck to her?”
“I expect you to leave that shithead to me. I expect you to be smart. I expect you to do everything you can to find that girl and keep her safe but Julian I have to tell you, there are rumors that say after this happened,” he says, nodding at the abandoned file lying on his desk. “The girl you know as Mia didn’t just undergo a serious memory change that left her believing Nancy was her mother while Nicky was her aunt, but it’s said that Nathan inspired those thoughts.”
“What?” I groan.
“This girl, the one who’s name is on that report, she knew that Nicky was her mother. But the girl you know now, thinks she just found out about it from Courtney.”
Oh fuck. I run a hand down my face. Does this shit ever get easier? What the fuck is this anyway?
“What the fuck are you trying to say?” I growl, my heart beating out of control.
“Son…”
“Just spit it out!”
“It’s possible that Nathan might have influenced the way she grew up by brainwashing her in such a way that she’d always do what he asked. According to Nancy, it’s almost like he used the opportunity of what he did to build Mia up to be his weapon.”
Jesus Holy Christ.
My mother hurt Aiden. My girl’s father hurt her. What the fuck is this?
“So, you’re saying…” my voice trails off, scrambling for words to say. “You’re saying that bastard might be using his own daughter?”
“Yes.”
“To do what exactly, huh? To get to me?”
“Maybe.”
“Fuck you!”
“I’m not saying it’s true, hell Mia is strong minded, and I’m sure she’s nothing like her father wanted her to be, Nancy died believing that and so, there is hope.”
“But what you’re actually saying is…”
“Be careful with her. She might be your downfall in the end.”
“Fuck you, Dad!” I murmur, staring up at him. “Fuck you and all the lies you and your wife spill, trying to take away the already fleeting moments of happiness that any of us will ever feel. Fuck you!”
“Son—” he starts, but I cut him.
“Is this is your way of washing your hands off of destroying a teenager’s life, huh? Just chuck a file my way and tell me she wasn’t your target? That she’s already messed up and you were doing all this to help who? Mia?”
The tension in the room has escalated to a point where danger and violence is ripe in the air.
“I can’t help what happened or change the damage that was inflicted, but to be fair, I was hoping that you didn’t know each other,” he says. “I just didn’t know that you were this obsessed with her.”
“What?”
“Whatever you have with Mia…”
“Is none of your fucking business! She’s mine and I’ll fucking fight for her with my dying breath if I have to.” I grit out, feeling like I’m breathing fire as I stare at him with my eyes narrowed. I don’t give a damn what memories she has, so long as she knows me, is with me, she’s worth every ounce of my fucking attention.
“Good.”
I stare at my father like he just grew horns from his head.
“Excuse me?”
“You’re going to have to keep that same energy, son because I promise you, by choosing her, you’ve just plunged yourself in the middle of a war I’m not sure you’ll survive, let alone win.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because that asshole is going to play dirty and come after you.”