Page 109 of Off-Limits

“And the lotus she’s resting on? It matches your tattoo.”

I rub absentmindedly at the bright blue lotus on my ribcage.

“Yeah.” I manage.

She’s quiet for a moment, and I risk a glance.

“The cherry blossoms are weeping into blood and into the murky river the lotus rests on, but even riddled with melancholy, the entire painting holds beauty as they blend into the darkness with the lotus. Is - is this how you felt as a kid? All that murky, dark water around the girl in the cage, is that still how you feel? Wait, what’s that green in the background, and what does that stormy blue-black sky represent behind the cherry blossoms?”

“The bright green stone in the background, and through the decayed trees, is a peridot. It’s the colour of your eyes, and it the gemstone is known as the friendship stone. If it wasn’t for you, I don’t think I would have survived. And the other thing you asked,” I say, choking up before continuing, “Is the colour of your dad’s eyes. In a few short weeks, he gave me the sky, and I took it for granted.”

“Oh, Dottie,” Arrie says, rushing over to me and wrapping me in her arms.

“Did I ever tell you what my mother said to me while I was there?”

Arrie shakes her head.

Putting my big girl panties on, I rehash the whole visit, and then what my mother said to me at the front door. Tears flow steadily down my face, and when I get to the last part, my phone starts ringing.

Screwing up my face, I wipe the tears away, my heart freezing in my chest when I see my parents number on the screen. With shaky fingers, I hover over the answer icon, afraid of what the callmight mean.

Fear is thick and heavy, weaving it’s dread deep into my belly as I answer.

“Hello?”

“Dottie, baby, you need to come home. I need you.”

“What’s the matter, dad? Are you ok, is mum?”

I hear him suck back a sob, and my stomach bottoms out.

“Tell me..” I demand weakly, hating how my voice shakes.

“It’s your mum, bub, she’s dead.”

Chapter Thirty-One

DAMON

Ileave Archie’s with a smile on my face and spring in my step. That bitch Kerry-Anne isn’t getting a cent, and she doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Her trump card ofConstable Shane Elliotis null and void, because she hasn’t been with him in months, maybe even a year. Fuck knows, but I don’t give a shit either way.

I’ll never forget the moment Archie told her what he could do to her, and the way the colour drained from her Botox lined face.

It’s been a long, tiresome week, and now that this is over, I can finally focus on getting my girl back. After Johnny’s little talk, I spent the next day grovelling to my daughter, and thankfully she has forgiven me.Just.

After a scream fest from Arrie, she finally calmed down and allowed me to explain how Dottie and I became what we were. Betrayal and hurt stung her bad, but after she heard me out, Arrie admitted that Dottie and I made sense, even if it grossed her out and made her feel uncomfortable. Her acceptance was hesitant and reluctant, but she came around,saying that if I ever hurt her best friend, that she would cut me off completely.

Minus the latter, it was a relief, that’s for sure.

Hopping into my truck, I start it up and put it into first, doing a double take when I see Dottie’s deathtrap fly past. Putting it back into neutral, my heart skitters in my chest as I watch my daughter driving, until they’re out of sight.

My stomach churns, the smile falling off my face, because something is very fucking wrong, but just as I’m about to follow them, my phone chimes. It’s from Arrie.

Do not follow us, dad. I will call you later.

I type back.

What’s going on?