Chapter 2Dying Twice To Save Her

"Get up, you lazy cow! It’s noon! Where’s my lunch?"

Hank kicked the shed door open, his heavy boot prodding her limp body. When she didn't move, he cursed and yelled back toward the house. "Ma! Give this bitch some aspirin or something. I don't need her kicking the bucket yet."

"City girls," Granny grumbled from the porch. "Fragile as glass."

I spent the day hovering over her. When she finally woke in the evening, her eyes struggled to focus on me. I held out a bowl of mashed potatoes, trying to look helpful.

"Mommy, please eat."

She didn't take the food. Instead, she used her last ounce of strength to grab my arm, her fingers digging in like claws. "Why? Why did you tell them?"

The agony in her voice was a physical weight. I swallowed my tears and put on the mask of a brainwashed child.

"Mommy, you and Daddy are supposed to be together. We’re a family. I’m just trying to keep us whole."

She stared at me like I was a stranger—a monster she had birthed. Then, she started to laugh, a dry, hacking sound.

"My mistake. I thought you were my daughter. I forgot you have his blood in your veins. You were born rotten."

Her words cut deeper than any belt. In that moment, I knew I had lost her forever. She would never love me again.

I remembered Granny once saying I was a "mistake" Mom had fought to keep. Mom had been skin and bones, yet she had nursed me and shared every scrap of her food with me. Before the bitterness took over, she used to hold me at night and whisper, "Daisy, hold on. Just a little longer. Mommy’s gonna get us out."

Everyone else called me "brat" or "worthless," but she had named me Daisy. She told me I was her little bit of sunshine in the dark.

But now, Daisy was dead to her. I was just another jailer.

It didn't matter. I still loved her.

In my last life, I heard Hank bragging that he had let her try to escape that first time. He wanted to see if she was still "broken-in." If she tried to run, he knew he had to beat the hope out of her once and for all.

That’s why I told. I had to stop her from running into a trap.

This time, I would ensure she ran when the path was clear. I would send her back to her real life, even if I couldn't go with her.