187 The Edge

(Jayden)

We’re back in my car, outside the high security facility, but my mind is still trapped in that room with Ashlyn. Her words stick in my head. This is a bad dream I can’t shake off.

Judy will always have a hold on you. One day, she’ll control your life again.

I grip the steering wheel tight, my knuckles turning white. The thought of my mother having any influence over me, over my life, twists in my gut. Ashlyn’s dragging me back into that nightmare.

“How can she even say that?” I demand. “How can she think Mother will ever control my life again?”

Winona stays quiet beside me, eyes fixed ahead. But she’s heard me. She’s thinking, processing, just like she always does.

“And she doesn’t trust me to take care of the baby,” I continue, my voice heating up. “Like I’m some kind of puppet for my mother, incapable of making my own decisions.”

Winona finally turns to look at me, her expression tells me she’s about to drop some hard truths. “Jayden, we don’t even know if there is a baby.