182- Mothers and meltdowns
Megan does notice my suspicious re at Darrien’s back. For a moment she’s confused and I can
practically see her reying thest several minutes in her head to see what bothered me. When she
figures it out, she smiles at me.
“Did you know that Darrien is very close with his mother. They speak or the phone pretty much every
night, even if it’s only for a few seconds. It’s very sweet.” She confides. Oooohhhhh he was talking to
his mum. That makes so much sense. I didn’t really think that he would be seeing someone else, but
maybe that he had some close female friends that he is kind to. Not that it would be a problem, as long
as it was clear that’s all they are. Either way, it’s far better.
“He’s never mentioned his mother to me.” I admit. Megan shrugs.
“He usually waits until he is alone to talk to her. But I’ve seen him texting her sometimes.” She says
with a small smile.
“Does she live around her?” I ask and Megan shakes her head.
“Nah, Darrien moved down here a few years ago, but she was already well settled in hermunity
and didn’t want to leave her home.”
4
“Oh, then why did he leave?” I think out loud with my head tilted. Darrien descends the stairs in that
moment and I blush realising I’ve been talking about him behind his back.
“That’s easy, I left because I needed a challenge. The town I grew up in is a tiny farm town. Not a lot of
career opportunities outside of farming, and that never really appealed to me.” He answers me
cheerfully, apparently unoffended by my nosiness.
“Thats a good reason I guess, Do you miss her?” I ask. He gives a firm nod.
“Of course, but she knows I’m better off here. She mighte and visit me sometime in the next few
months. She is due a holiday.” He exins. Megan instantly looks interested.
“That sounds awesome. We would all love to meet her.” She deres determinedly. She isn’t wrong. I
never knew my parents and I find I am extraordinarily interested in meeting Darrien’s mother and
seeing who raised him to be the person he is today.
During this conversation, something has been nagging at the back of my mind. All of a sudden it clicks.
“Tristain’s mother!” I announce, far too loudly. Megan flinches at my tone, or maybe at my actual words,
It’s hard to
say.
“Huh? What about Tristain’s mother?” Darrien asks curiously.
“I met her, she hated me.” I exin. He is briefly confused, then remembers the list we’ve been making.
“You… You met her?” Megan’s voice is small. I mentally curse myself for speaking without thinking. I
should have kept it to myself and just told Bemy! Or at very least not yelled it out without thinking.
Still, it’s toote now and Megan has asked me a question.
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182- Mothers and meltdowns
“Oh, well… Yes I did. Briefly. It wasn’t a pleasant conversation.” I respond haltingly. I don’t want to hurt
her. Bemy and I both tried to shield her from this. She had enough to deal with sorting through her
own emotions without being attacked by Tristain’s mother too. Bemy steps in to help, his arm slipping
around my waist, his handnding on my hip.
“Tristain’s mother came to see me the day after he passed. She was very angry and upset, she was
definitely looking for someone to me, refusing to believe her son might have done something wrong.
It was… getting out of hand. Ryann came and intervened, managed the situation and sent her away.”
He adds with a sigh.
“She was ming Bemy for everything that happened, insisting that he must have ordered you to
end things with Tristain which would have “broken his heart‘ and caused him to lose it and attack.” I
exin. Bemy’s face suddenly pales.
“You corrected her. You told her that I wasn’t there and you were, you told her that you were the one
who told Megan that Tristain wasn’t being faithful.” He looks like he’s been struck. Megan is crying and
Darrien is already pulling her to his ch*st tofort her.
“She… she said she woulde back. She never did.” I whisper in horror. This is the first person
we’ve listed that I actually believe might hate me enough to want to hurt me. Or at very least, she’s
rted to Tristain who we already know was very unstable. But, her son was the one who tried to hurt
US. Would she really go so far? Commit multiple murders, kidnap a child, just to get to me, someone
she only met briefly?
“It is strange that we didn’t hear from her again. You’re right that she didn’t seem like she would be
willing to drop. the matter. It just… escaped my mind with everything else that’s been going on.” He
admits. I lean into his side.
“You’re not the only one who forgot. Do you… do you think she would go this far? Try to hurt me?” I
ask. Darrien is the one who responds this time.
“Never underestimate the lengths a mother will go to for the sake of her child.” He tells me gravely. I
repress a sigh, I wouldn’t know, I never knew my parents at all. It doesn’t make sense at all to me, but if
all the others believe it could be true, then I trust them.
“If one of the Psychos is Tristain’s mother, who would the second one be? I assume his mother is there
would need to be a magic user too, right?” I ask. Bemy nods his agreement.
a Shifter like him. So
“Yes, and I have no idea who she might be working with. I would guess family, but all her family would
be Shifters. I can’t think who else would go so far to avenge a criminal.” His tone is dark. He seems
fairly convinced that Tristain’s mother is involved. I remember the prim blonde woman. Thinking back
on it, I could definitely see her being cold enough to kill someone, or to hurt a child. She wants
someone to me, and I guess I might have unintentionally made myself that person. Although if I
hadn’t, she probably would havee after Bemy or Megan. I suspect the situation would have
ended up simrly. Kiara might have avoided being involved though. I suspect she was taken mostly for
her connection to me. If Tristain’s mother hates me for breaking up Tristain and Megan, she could have
found out about my magic. I don’t advertise it, but it’s not exactly a huge secret either.
“Do you think she could have found Kiara and assumed that she and I are rted in some way? Her
eyes are like mine and our marks are simr. If she hates me for my magic, mes me for her son. It
would make a twisted kind of sense for her to go after someone she might interpret as being my family.
A child that, at a nce, you could easily assume is connected to me.” No one speaks, but only
because they know that I am probably right. The more I think about this, the more sense it makes.
Tristain’s mother has to be involved somehow. Finally, FINALLY, we are making some progress. It hurts
to think about it, but hopefully this means we will find Kiara soon.N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.