Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 112056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
The constellation of injuries had shrunk to just one—his ankle.
Michaels wasn’t happy with Elder’s slow recuperation on the joint and refused to take the brace off just yet. Elder had to obey to avoid worsening the already irreversible damage to his tendons and ligaments.
Once Michaels had delivered the stern instructions, Elder shooed him away and did the exact opposite by storming to the bridge to talk to Jolfer.
I had no idea what they discussed, but he came back looking less pissed off and promised a surprise tomorrow.
That night, as I stood on the deck watching the stars curl with smoke from Elder’s medicinal use of marijuana, Selix appeared with a satellite phone and passed it to me.
I raised my eyebrow. “What is it?”
He smiled. “Someone wants to talk to you.”
I shrank back, staring at the phone as if my past was trying to make contact and drag me back. My new present seemed too good to be true. I was so in awe of the effortless way Elder had introduced me to travel and luxury; even now, I pinched myself regularly to make sure I hadn’t fallen into a coma back at the white mansion and might wake up at any moment in horror.
It seemed without the threat of death or mortal injury casting a shadow over us, I couldn’t accept that life could be this…uncomplicated…this wonderful.
Selix chuckled. “It’s not going to bite you, Pim.”
“I don’t know anyone who knows this number. I don’t even know this number.”
He grabbed my hand and slapped the heavier-than-normal cell phone into it. “You know one person. I suggest you speak to her.”
Leaving me speechless, he wandered off, cocking his chin at Elder for him to follow.
Elder inhaled the last puff and tossed the discarded joint into the waves below. “Talk to your mother, Pim. I have things to discuss with Selix.”
I didn’t have a choice as he left me alone with the galaxies above.
My hand shook as I raised the phone to my ear. Elder and Selix laughed at something in the distance, strolling to the other side of the yacht.
“Hello?” My voice remained quiet and hesitant, still distrustful no matter what I’d been told.
“Are you Tasmin Blythe?” a curt female asked.
Thanks to Elder occasionally using my true name, it no longer sounded as foreign as it once did. “I-I am.”
“And do you accept a toll charge from Sonya Blythe, prisoner 890776E?”
My fingers clutched the phone tighter. “I do.”
“Connecting you now.”
A crackle and hiss and then my mother’s anxious voice. “Min?”
I fought the need to sit suddenly. “Hi, Mum.”
She exhaled heavily. “I’ve been trying to call you for weeks. Is everything okay? I feared that you’d been taken again. That something awful had happened.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because you said you’d call and you didn’t.”
“Oh.” Shame filled me. “I’m so sorry.” I’d been on my own and blocked from all communication for so long, I’d forgotten the simple requirement and expectations from others to check in now and again. “I didn’t think. I’m so sorry. I’m fine. Just had a couple of interesting weeks but everything is better now.”
“Define interesting.” Her voice turned sharp.
“Oh…nothing really.” I waved my hand in the air, struggling to omit rather than lie. “It’s over now, so it’s in the past.”
“Well, that’s good to hear.” Her sharp tone switched to a smile. “It’s so nice to talk to you. Almost as incredible as it was to see you that day.”
I padded barefoot over to a lounger and sat. Knowing my mother was in jail for killing my murderer still wasn’t easy to comprehend—especially when speaking to her like any normal conversation on the phone.
“It was amazing seeing you, too. How are they treating you in there?”
She chuckled. “Fine.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m okay, Tasmin. But that isn’t why I called. I’m far more interested to know how you are.”
I smiled, looking around at the starry skies and warmth of the Caribbean. “I’m doing wonderfully.”
“Oh, do tell.”
I laughed, unable to link the woman asking for details and genuinely caring about my answers to the cold-hearted mother from my childhood.
It was as if she’d followed my thoughts, interrupting before I could reply. “You know, I’m not that person anymore, Min. I’ve given up being so suspicious and judgmental. Living in this place…it teaches you to be wary and keep your guard up, but it also shows the depth of human connection and compassion. I want to know about your life. I need to know you’re happy.”
Tears filled my eyes as I struggled with things to say. Assurances that I’d never hold back again, fully willing to have this relationship with her.
Once again, she jumped into the silence, not as comfortable nor as friendly with it as I was. “Oh, I almost forgot. I arranged my lawyer to release the funds I was holding in a trust fund for you. Your Mickey Mouse watch from your father is also in the trust. Whenever you’re back in town, you can collect it from their offices.”