One Hundred and Thirty-Six Scars(13)

“Do you know who your parents are?” Zane began, unfazed by Hella’s glaring.

“No. Why?” I answered through clenched teeth.

“Well. My Ma, she—”

“I thought you said she wouldn’t say anything?” I whispered harshly, sliding the seat back and placing my fists on the table.

Rounding the table, he leaned against it, gripping the wood with his hands. “She didn’t. I mean, she said she couldn’t deny the resemblance when she saw you. It was why she was acting all fucked up.”

“You’re not making sense, Zane. Spit it out.”

Hella changed positions in his seat restlessly, his hand resting over his mouth.

“She saw you, and you looked so much like Luce. I don’t know how I didn’t see it either. Anyway, she called Bethy straight away. Bethy is one of the old fellas old ladies, she’s been with them for years. It turned out, Luce had a kid. Bethy had been hiding it for years.”

“So. That doesn’t mean I’m his kid,” I answered under a scoff.

“Actually, here’s the fuck me part. Bethy and your mom, they were best friends. When your mom told Bethy about her being pregnant, Bethy gave her a number to a Catholic adoption center.”

“Wasn’t raised in no Catholic adoption center, you got the wrong guy.” There had to be a reason why he was telling me all this shit, but they’ve got the wrong guy. I wasn’t raised in a nice Catholic adoption center. I fucking wish.

He shook his head. “After your mom went missing, Bethy lost her mind. She tried to track her down. She found out that the Catholic center is actually some dodgy system that they used to recruit members…” his voice traveled out and my breathing began to quicken, a deep pulse started to beat into my ears.

“For… The Army,” he answered, eyes glued on me.

My windpipe expanded by the information, but I shook my head. “No, can’t be. It’s a coincidence. And how did she find that out? There’s no way she got to the bottom and found out about The Army. They’re non-existent,” I answered, shaking my head.

“It’ true—” His voice was cut out by the door creaking open from behind me. My shoulders stiffened and my face stilled. I kept my eyes locked on Zane, not ready to turn around and see the so-called resemblance. Hella cursed under his breath, shaking his head. “Beast, look up, man.” Standing off my chair, I turned around to face the newest body that had entered.

Shit.

It was like looking at the future me, but where his jaw was narrow, mine was square. My skin had an olive tint to it too. I’m guessing I got that from my mother.

“At first, I didn’t believe it,” he began, stepping closer. My body stiffened. Hella’s shoulders brushed up against mine, standing an inch in front of me. I took hold of his arm, pulling him backward.

“I still don’t. Could be a coincidence,” I answered, nodding my head at Hella to stand down.

“Son, those eyes right there…” he pointed two fingers at me, “…are not a coincidence.”

“Don’t son me,” I replied, taking a seat on the table.

His eyes wrinkled, distress lines pulling his skin taut.

“You’re a devil, that’s apparent in your eyes is what I was meaning.” Pulling out a cigar from his left pocket inside his cut, he clipped it before placing it in his mouth.

“You going to ask about your mother?” he asked, taking a seat next to me.

“Nope. Not right now.” Taking my position on the chair, I ran my hands over my face in frustration. Half of me wanted to believe that this was shit talk, but the other half knew that there was no way they would have that kind of information if it were lies. Then there’s the resemblance, I couldn’t deny that—as much as I wanted to. Did I want to play happy families, though? That was a fuck no, with no passing go.

He nodded his head. “That’s fine.”

The door swung open again, my head snapped up from being hooded between my arms. A woman walked in. Short brown hair and standing around five foot three, her eyes bored into mine. My eyebrows drew together

“Sorry, it’s just… you look like your mother, too.” Her eyes glassed over, her hand wrapping around her throat. “It’s all my fault.”

Luce stood from the table, walking toward her. “We’ll get to that back home. Leave.” He pointed to the door, his jaw clenched tight.

“Wait,” she said, bringing her sad, tired eyes up to mine. “Your mom is still alive. She’s out there somewhere…” she trailed off, her eyes skimming over me and toward Luce.