Don't Lie to Me (Eva Rae Thomas #1)

by Willow Rose

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. Socrates

"Does your mom want you to be kidnapped?"

But they didn't. The person outside bent down, zipped her tent open, then peeked inside. Before Sophie could even scream, this person grabbed her, then zipped up her sleeping bag until it covered her face completely. Sophie tried to scream and kick but was lifted off the ground and was soon moving swiftly through the night.

I knew she blamed me for Chad leaving us. Of course, she did. Why wouldn't she? She had never approved of me working and having a career.

I felt tears pressing behind my eyes and couldn't really hold them back anymore. A couple rolled down my cheeks. I felt so helpless, so lost.

I can't even remember the last time you touched me, Mom. Can't you just give me a hug? Can't you just put your arm around me and tell me it'll be all right? That I am going to make it?

I liked to tell myself I was saving lives, that I was doing something good, but I wasn't sure it had been worth it. Was it worth losing my marriage?

Being back with them felt more like home than D.C. ever did for fifteen years.

voice

Sophie's dad?

killers

Maybe it's this dude

boy

Guessing the boy is the killer

Lots of broken dreams walking around this town."

"It's okay, Mom. You know that, right?" "What is?" "That you can't keep track of our lives. It's normal. All the other moms are clueless too. Don't be too hard on yourself."

It wasn't about being perfect; they never expected that of me, but they did expect that I did the best I could.

His eyes were still open, staring eerily at us like they were asking us why we were so late, why we were too late.

I was beginning to remember why I was in such a rush to get out of this place twenty years ago. It was suffocating how everyone always knew everything you did.

I looked at the small woman in front of me, then felt like hugging her, yet slapping her at the same time. No one should have to live a life like this. Not the child who had no choice, not the mother who suffered abuse every day.

A huge wooden box was placed against the end wall. Maddie stared at it, and as she paid attention, she thought she could hear a noise coming from inside of it. It sounded an awful lot like nails scratching against the wood.

"His ex-wife is Michaela Strong," I said. "And there's more. He was there. At the camp on the day Sophie disappeared."

Like her friends, she didn't dream of some big career. She just simply wanted to be a mother.

"Has that boy been in that box for two whole months?" I said. "He must have fed him then." Matt nodded, biting his nails. I had never seen him do that before. That was new. "Matt?" "There’s more," he said. "Okay?" "The boy. He's…he's my son."

No two houses were the same. It was messy and a little rough in places, but it had charm.

"Because I knew who took her." It felt like she had punched me. She might as well have. I shook my head, dumbfounded. "I…I don't understand."

"It was her father," my mother said, her voice trembling. "Her real father…your real father."

"I don't know. I’m not very good at asking for help, I guess. But now I’m doing just that. I need you, Matt. I need your help. Please."

but then he reminded himself that his mother was a bad person, that she was the one who had abandoned him; she was the one who had acted crazy and not come when she was supposed to pick him up. She was the one who had chosen the drugs over him; she was the one who used to hurt him, and she was the one who chose that bad life over him and his sister. She was the one who couldn't be trusted, and they weren't safe here with her.

The boy never saw her again. She went into cardiac arrest in the ambulance and died on her way to the hospital, he was later told.