Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
She looked at Ciaran. "However, it's also possible that some memories may never return, especially if the trauma was severe and the techniques used were particularly invasive. The brain sometimes permanently buries certain experiences as a protective mechanism. We have to accept that uncertainty and be prepared for it."
“So she may never know,” he stated rather than asked, his expression closed off.
Carol's voice softened. "Patience is key. She might have moments of clarity and then nothing for days or weeks. It’s frustrating but pushing too hard can do more harm than good.”
“I have those fragments,” Dion stated.
“What do you remember from that place? That day?” she asked him, but it was something we all wanted to know.
I knew from the way he subtly shifted his feet that he didn’t want to answer that question. I would rephrase it. “What do you know?”
“Everyone that participated in the same judgment as us is either dead or here. The Syndicate did some fuck shit, and we’ve all had our minds scrambled, except Hayven. Now we’re starting to remember, but that doesn’t seem like a good thing, and--.”
“You don’t think they should remember?” Brody cut him off, surprised.
“No.” Dion shook his head. “The things I remember of that place, I can barely stomach it, and I didn’t have close to the experience they did. It was…”
“Torture?” Ciaran finished.
“That’s a really nice way of saying it. You were there, weren’t you?”
He remembered more than we thought. Interesting.
Carol cleared her throat. “You’re all remembering bits and pieces it seems. How much of it is reality and not the warped version of events is yet to be seen. To be quite honest, I’m surprised at who has a near-perfect recollection of events.”
We wouldn’t say her name. Not when they were watching, foaming at the mouth for that same information.
“But I happened to agree with Dion. The one you’re most concerned about, I’m not sure you want her to remember.”
“She deserves to,” Ciaran refuted without hesitation.
“Even at what it could cost you?”
“It’s better the devil you know,” I answered her for him.
“Two of them don’t remember you being there,” Maverick pointed out offhandedly.
Carol shook her head. “I was never present for the proceedings. I only made sure to do what I could afterward while you all worked on getting them out.”
“You did your part. That’s more than Earl can say,” my brother stated dryly.
She didn’t bother defending the man again. It hadn’t gone particularly well for her the first and last time she had done that. When the girls were all taken, there wasn’t a second wasted in figuring out how to get them back and it had come down to each of us betraying them for them to be free. Dion was the exception.
In truth, Carol wasn’t here because of her brother. He’d been killed off long ago. She’d been on our side of this war ever since. She entered the Playground pretending she was playing to win his freedom. Earl was truly here to suffer at their hands, punishment for getting caught trying to make a move legally like a fucking fool.
“Is it a waiting game then?” Brody asked when the silence stretched on again.
“We can’t play any more games,” I answered.
“He’s right,” Ciaran agreed. “And we don’t have time to. They put him at that park for a reason.”
Dion glanced around, waiting for someone to offer clarification. It was the only piece of information he didn’t have—yet. None of us were going to talk about that either.
He’d figure it out. I gave it a little longer and then he’d know exactly how significant those kids with the severed head were.
“If it makes a difference, Hayven is all in still, even as she pretends that I don’t exist.”
I glanced at my brother and met his gaze. He didn’t try to hide the chaos that had turned on him inside his head. If I could take that from him, I would. I’d take it from all of them and add it to my own. I was adept at dealing with demons of the mind.
“How did we get here?” Brody wondered aloud.
“Well, if we had left things as they were, Charon would be married to Jessica or Selena,” Maverick pointed out. “She’s still to this day obsessed with him.”
“Isn’t that the same person?” Dion asked.
“Unfortunately,” Ciaran answered.
“So that thing with her mom marrying your dad?”
“That’s true,” my brother confirmed. “But we don’t claim that piece of shit as our father. We were raised by a much better man.”
“You don’t seem to claim her either. I for sure thought you had forgotten her or something.”
“We could say the same for you about your girlfriend,” Ciaran countered casually.
Dion’s brows rose. “Why would I care about her?”
“Damn. That’s cold, D,” my brother quipped.
It wasn’t him either. Dion was like the male version of Sunshine—too fucking good for a place like this.