Walk the Edge (Thunder Road, #2)(68)

I wish I could. I wish I hadn’t been swept up in this storm, but I have and there’s no turning back. “There was some stuff, but it worked out and I’m okay now.”

Mom’s silent and the lack of response from her creates a heaviness in my chest that causes breathing to be a labor.

“Liam visited me this evening to talk about you. He told me about Thomas Turner.”

My bones practically jump out of my skin. “What?”

I expect wrath to be pouring out of my mother’s eyes, but instead I discover sympathy. She places her hand over mine. “Liam hung out with some old friends on Friday night.”

Meaning Liam hung out with people I go to school with. He was on the football team in high school and he still attends the games to cheer on his home team. My head falls back. Translation: Liam chatted with Kyle.

“Liam heard from a friend that Thomas Turner is in some of your classes this year. He also heard there were some rumors going around about you and Thomas at the beginning of the year. Liam put two and two together and realized that was what you were upset about the day I left. He feels bad for how we treated you and I feel worse.”

Blood drains from my face and I’m sorting through the possibilities of what she heard, but I keep landing on the same spot: Mom heard about the rumor floating around school. The one that says that Razor tried to ask me out. Because if she heard Razor and I were body to body at Shamrock’s or that we’re dating/not dating, she’s handling the idea of me lying to her way too well. It also means Kyle is throwing out a reminder to me to stay in line.

“What did Liam say?” I ask.

“Nothing I believe. Nothing Liam believes.” Mom squeezes my hand and she inhales a quivering breath. “Liam told me what happened the night he picked you up from orientation. About how you were alone with Thomas, and then he told me about the rumors going on at school...”

“What rumors?” It’s odd how distant I sound. Like I’m stuck in a tunnel. Even odder is how I’ve become detached—from my body, from my mind.

“That Thomas Turner was bothering you at school and that people were jumping to wrong conclusions. He also said Kyle Hewitt got into a fight with Thomas in order to protect you.”

I’m not sure if I’m in shock or if I’m relieved.

“Please talk to me,” she begs. “The Terror have their own way of living and it can be frightening. I want to make sure you’re okay. I want to be here for you. Liam’s scared something more happened the night of orientation. He’s feeling a lot of regret and...so am I.”

Did he also spill how he forced me out of his car? That he dumped me on the side of the road? Mom swallows and she grows overly interested in the bedspread. Maybe he did confess. Maybe the two of them commiserated over their guilt.

“Did Thomas Turner hurt you?” Mom asks.

“Thomas Turner stayed behind at orientation because I was alone. He stayed behind to protect me.” If Razor and I do end up together, I should lay some positive groundwork, but what if Mom uses her spidey senses and figures out how deep I’m into him? “He and I...we’re working together in our AP physics class. He’s not that bad. Actually, he’s nice.”

“Nice?” Mom eyes me as if she’s weighing what to say next. “That’s not how the Terror operates. Odds are he’s being nice to you for a reason. I’m grateful your brother showed when he did at orientation, and I think you need to keep your distance from Thomas outside of class.”

“Isn’t it possible everyone is a little overdramatic about the Terror?”

“I worked with Thomas Turner’s mother.”

My heart stops beating. “What?”

“And I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors about how his mother died.”

Slightly ashamed, I nod. I’ve spent my life hating rumors, but I’ve had no problem listening to them. I guess I was thankful they weren’t slandering me.

“Layla wasn’t from Snowflake. She met her husband at a party in Louisville when she was in her last year of college. She wasn’t who you would have thought of as a Reign of Terror wife. Supersmart, lots of honors when she graduated. When she arrived in Snowflake, she was so full of life. I purposely would switch my shifts around to work with her.”

Mom’s eyes glisten with sad tears. “She was a lot like you. She could have done anything. Ended up anywhere. And she wound up married to a man that made her unhappy.”

My throat constricts. These may be the answers Razor is so desperate for. “Did she tell you that? Did she tell you she was unhappy?”

Mom shakes her head. “Layla was private when it came to her husband. It’s the way the Terror operates—they expect complete secrecy, but she arrived in Snowflake one person, and over that last year of her life, I saw the light in her eyes wither.”

“Some people say she didn’t commit suicide,” I say. “That it was an accident.”

“Maybe. Only God knows the truth, but I do think the rumors regarding the Terror have weight. If you want me to be perfectly honest, most rumors are based on truth.”

Her words strike me in the stomach. “So you believe the rumors about me sleeping with Razor?”

Mom’s head ticks back. “No. I told you, neither your brother nor I believe that, but we are convinced you gained Thomas Turner’s attention and that scares me. What upsets me even more is that you tried to come to me and I shut you down.”