Page 81 of Set In Stone

“Dammit! Alexander, I don’t want to leave you, but everything will be okay. Just stay with your sister. Don’t leave the house. In fact, don’t even leave thecouch.”

He seems upset. I don’t want to make him more upset, so Inod.

“Okay,” I agree and go back toeating.

My mother.She was there the whole time, yet I didn’t remember it until now. I remembered her body on the kitchen floor. Her lips were pale, and she was unresponsive to anything I tried to do. Her skull was pushed in, a shallow crater that oozed with blood and gray matter, causing her hair to mat to her face. I recalled it being sticky. My stomach rolled from the recollection of the terribly gruesomesite.

Is that why I blocked it out? And what about Hale? Where did he bringher?

I couldn’t think, my vision flooding with a rush of more suppressed memories. This time, I recalled a conversation I overheard my grandfather having with Hale and mygrandmother.

Grandpa will getmad if he catches me out of bed, but I can’t sleep. I don’t want to have another bad dream. I need to ask Grandma for my sleepmedicine.

I go downstairs, but stop when I hear Grandpa talking. He soundsangry.

“No, I don’t care what your mother thinks, Hale. We can’t tell them. Not now. It’s been over a month. Justine still hasn’t spoken a word, and Alexander can barely get through thenight.”

“These children have been through too much. They can’t see her like this,” Grandma says. She sounds like she’s crying. Grandma cries a lot now. I wish I could make her feelbetter.

“Any improvement?” Haleasks.

“No. The doctors are not optimistic. It’s most likely permanent,” Grandpasays.

Grandma criesagain.

“Lucille, get it together. You need to be strong for Alexander and Justine. Crying isn’t going to bring herback.”

“That’s not why I’m crying. I’m crying because I feel guilty. Right now, we have her hidden away. She’s stable, even if her mind is gone. I just feel awful for keeping the children in the dark. Will we ever be able to tell them? Bring them to seeher?”

“Lucille, she won’t even know who they are. You said it yourself. These children have been through enough. We have to protect them. Can you imagine what else they’d have to endure if it came out that their mother murdered theirfather?”

“He deserved it if you ask me,” Halesays.

“Any news on the police investigation?” Grandpaasks.

“Nothing. They haven’t even found the gun that shothim.”

I begin to get nervous. They think Mommy killed the lazy bastard. What if they find out what Idid?

“For the sake of Alexander and Justine, it’s better that Helena remains a missing person. Hale, are you sure you can keep her identity asecret?”

“Yes, sir. As far as anyone knows, Helena Russo is really LenaSilvestri.”

My hands feel sweaty. I take a step back. The staircreaks.

“Alexander? Is that you?” I hear Grandma callout.

If they see me, they’ll know what I did. I don’t need my medicine anymore. I just need to get back to myroom.

Iturned to Hale.

“You knew where my mother was this wholetime.”

I phrased it as a statement of accusation, not a question. Hale simply nodded and stared at some invisible speck on thefloor.

“Alex, wait,” Justine interjected. “You don’tunderstand.”

She spoke, but I wasn’t hearing her. I was too busy watching my security detail, the man whom I had come to consider a friend and the man I had trusted longer than anyone else. For years, I sent him off to chase Jane Doe’s, only to now learn that he was simply placating me. A part of me wanted to deny that he knew my mother was alive all this time, but my newfound memories told me that wasn’t thecase.