“He didn’t know how to tell you.” She stirred her rice. “You were a kid, Ash.”
“A kid who kept getting ignored. Whenever a Trader called, he was out the door. Didn’t matter if I needed dinner, advice, a ride to rehearsal, anything. He was never there for me.”
“Sure he was. He saved your ass big time.” Candace nodded at the kitchen. “Remember when he showed up here after the fire? Saved you a trip to juvie. Plus, he got you off easy that night you drunk-drove your brother home.”
“He also made me feel extra shitty afterwards.” Ash realized she was sweating. “I mean, I felt bad enough about Trent. Then Dad kept hammering away.”
“Oh, drop it. You’re what, thirty now? Move on. Give your father a chance.”
“He had twenty years’ worth of chances.”
“Followed by ten years of punishment. You should’ve seen him destroy himself after you left. God, they could’ve named a gin label after him. It was ugly. One time he pulled me over while he was trashed.”
Ash raised an eyebrow. “He sober now?”
“Yeah. Thankfully.”
“If he’s better, then he doesn’t need me.”
“You’d be surprised.” She frowned. “It’s sad. He thinks you hate him to his core. The things he tells me sometimes… Christ, he blames himself for everything. For being a boring old cop. For not being your birth father. For being black while you’re white. The list goes on.”
“Jesus.” Ash’s stomach flipped. “That had nothing to do with me leaving.”
“I know that, and you know that. But your father, you know how he is—always overthinking, always beating himself up. With you, he goes into overdrive.” She gave a tired smile. “Whatever he said, whatever he did to let you down…forgive him, okay?”
Ash sighed.
“Girlie? You hear me?”
“Fine. Let’s go see Snare.”
12
“Ready, girlie?”
Candace parked at the rear of the banquet hall lot and wasted no time climbing the soggy forest trail. She moved with the vigor of someone half her age and size. Ash rushed to keep up, her hand pulsing inside its cast.
The climb came easier today, no doubt thanks to sleep and breakfast. Not only that, the forest seemed to welcome her. Soft dirt cushioned her steps while the wind pushed leaves from her path. Whereas yesterday she’d arrived desperate, today she came demanding. She wanted a new hand and she intended to get one.
Before long they neared the thicket outside the creek clearing. Candace approached a massive tree stump and sat down. She tapped something into her phone.
“You’re set,” she said. “Cameras are off.”
“Cool.”
“Don’t be disappointed when—”
“I won’t.”
Ash entered the clearing. A floaty sensation filled her chest, not unlike the nerves that came prior to taking the stage. At the bend she kicked some rocks away, carved out a soft spot in the mud, and dropped to her knees. The creek clicked and splashed. Water spritzed her jeans.
This was it. Time to reach in and take what was hers.
As she peered over the water, her reflection appeared.
No. Not her reflection. Not exactly.
The woman in the water shared her features, facial structure, and skin tone. But the rest was…beautiful. Dark elegant hair. High, sharp cheekbones. Burning brown irises. Bulging lips. Smooth firm skin—and no bags under the eyes, either. Everything about her looked stunning.
Or at least her reflection looked stunning.
The water-twin wore the same leather jacket. When Ash unzipped, she gawked at a model-caliber rack resting atop a camera-friendly frame. Buh-bye love handles, hello six-pack. Better yet, some of her older, cut-rate tattoos were missing from her neck and shoulders. Everything Ash could’ve wanted, Snare Creek offered.
Now for the real test.
Holding her breath, she stretched her hand over the water.
Through the stream’s rivulets she saw pale, unbroken fingers poking from the cast. Slender, yet sturdy. As a bonus, the fingertips bore calluses for withstanding the friction of guitar strings. Everything she needed.
Still holding her breath, she lowered her hand and touched her swollen, purple fingers to the cold surface. A chill wrapped her sore flesh. She exhaled nervously.
“I want to trade,” she said.
Moisture rose to her face. It tingled over her cheeks. Misted into her mouth. Slathered her tongue. Then, without her consent or control, her lips moved.
In a strange voice she said, “So do I.”
“What the fuck!”
“I can offer you—”
“Get off, get off!” Ash slapped at her cheeks and spat the moisture away as if it were poison. In her panic, she toppled sideways, rolling frantically in the mud.
“Ash!” Candace ran to her, phone clutched in her white-knuckled grasp. “What’s wrong?”
Ash bounced to her feet, chest heaving as she swatted mud off her legs. Still shaken, she got up and paced till her pulse settled. “That thing. It talked. The me in the water—it talked through me.”
Candace squinted at her. “It doesn’t talk.”
“Bullshit it doesn’t. My mouth got misty and started moving like I was someone’s puppet.”
“You need to lay off those pills.” Candace tugged her elbow. “Let’s head back.”
Ash shrugged her off. “It said it had an offer.”
“An offer? You’re joking.”
“I’m not.” Deep breaths, deep breaths. She couldn’t let this chance slide. “Give me another minute.”
“I’m scared to give you another second.”
“You want me talking to my father or not?”
“Fine.” Candace backed away. “Be careful.”
Alone again, Ash knelt in the slop. Cold overtook her knees as she leaned in. Her watery reflection appeared, the same as before. Stunning. Gorgeous. Ideal. It tempted and spooked her.
Clearing her throat, she asked, “What offer?”
The mist rose, sliding between her lips like an unseen tongue. Her vocal cords thrummed while her mouth formed words that weren’t her own.
“I can offer you a new hand.”
The moisture left her mouth. She interpreted it as her turn to speak. Trembling, she asked, “Isn’t the left hand taken?”
“I’ll produce another. Soon as you complete me.”
“Complete you?”
“Five parts. Kidneys. Jaw. Skin. Lower leg. Ribcage.”
“Ribcage?” She touched her side. “You want my ribcage?”
“Your ribs are too healthy. Bring sick or injured parts. What you might call…Bad Parts.”
Gooseflesh popped along her neck. “H-how do you know my band’s name?”
“Our encounter from before.”
Her hand pulsed at the thought. Earlier, she tried rationalizing yesterday’s encounter as a pill-induced hallucination. Now it appeared to be more. And this…thing could apparently read her mind.
“Bring those five parts. Afterwards, everyone’s free to leave.”