Fake Love - Jaxson Kidman Page 0,8

internal trauma. Nothing with her brain… other than the amnesia.”

“Which will take care of itself,” Dad said.

He was always so confident. Which he needed. To do what he did for a living meant getting crapped on all the time. A lot of his ideas didn’t work out. But the few that did, they paid a ton of money. Hence our insane lifestyle.

The mansion was a tan, brick color with giant white pillars at the front. At each end of the house was a turret that Dad told me was part of the castle. And I was the princess.

My room was the entire left side of the house.

First floor. Second floor. Third floor.

Two balconies.

A private entrance.

A walkway to my pool.

Yes, my pool.

It was really something.

I loved the house.

I loved my part of the house.

I could feel those feelings toward the house… even though now it was different.

My feelings are the same for the house, but everything surrounding it wasn’t.

It was hard to explain.

I was still processing all that had happened.

That I wasn’t just in an accident.

It wasn’t like Tank was broken or something happened because of wear and tear plus time.

Tank was too big and too new for that.

This was different.

Tank was messed with.

To hurt me.

“Now, Winter,” the doctor said. “One last time… just for me… off the record… what do you remember?”

Everything. They tried to kill me.

“I remember nothing,” I blurted out instead.

The doctor nodded. “We’ll follow up then.”

“Nothing to worry about,” Dad said. “I just want to get her home.”

I wanted to get out of the hospital too. The room felt really small.

I needed some space so I could think.

It still felt impossible that this was all real.

But I remembered it.

I remembered everything.

I remembered on my third birthday, Dad dropped the birthday cake on the ground. When I started to cry, he took a piece of the cake and wiped it on my cheek. Then we had a big cake fight.

Every memory was back in its place.

Right where it belonged.

Tucked away nicely, just like the way Ellie would take care of my bedroom and stuffed animals.

She was the housekeeper that worked in my part of the house.

I loved her.

But she left last year to go to nursing school.

That was because she told Leslie it was her dream.

That’s right…

We had a dinner party.

Dad invited Leslie.

Leslie and I didn’t get along perfectly, but I was happy for Dad.

Anyway, Ellie told Leslie about wanting to become a nurse.

Dad handed her a check to pay for nursing school right on the spot. The check also included living costs and everything else Ellie needed.

Ellie cried.

Leslie cried.

Dad smiled.

I remembered me thinking they were all weird.

I texted Evie and we had a car pick each of us up so we could find a party and drink.

The memories raced through my head as I left the hospital and climbed into the passenger seat of Dad’s SUV.

The sight and the smell of the vehicle made me nervous.

“Are you okay?” Dad whispered to me.

“I don’t know how to answer that,” I said.

Dad touched my shoulder and he swallowed hard. “Whatever it takes. No expense spared.”

I nodded and smiled.

My mind joked with me and wondered what the cost would be to get rid of three douchebag guys.

But that wasn’t possible.

The rich and the powerful… they were scary.

Noah and Easton’s parents were heavily involved in investments. That’s what most everyone did around here. It was all about investments. They were investors. It was money, lawyers, power, and a lot of gray area to live in. Xander’s parents were split. His father lived overseas and sent back big checks. His mother controlled the money and made a lot for herself.

I knew all of this stuff.

It was kind of amazing.

To not have a memory and then it suddenly was back…

“Do you want something to eat?” Dad asked.

“How about a…”

I stopped myself.

If I blurted out that I wanted a double cheeseburger, extra fries, and a chocolate milkshake from Gordy’s, Dad would know my memory was back.

That was my go-to meal when I was either depressed or getting my period.

“What, Winter? What do you want?”

Dad’s voice seemed hopeful.

“I just want to get home,” I said.

“You got it,” he said.

Halfway home, Dad took a phone call.

He was pissed.

Really pissed.

His face turned red, which didn’t happen all that often.

When he spoke, it was short answers, which meant he didn’t want to talk in front of me.

I kept my mouth shut though.

We pulled into our rich neighborhood and it was one mansion after another.

I knew everyone who lived