tricks of time ― grayson hawthorne [the inheritance games]

033. I...LOVE YOU?

I furrow my brows. What? That can't be right.

"What?" I say. "No, that can't be right."

He doesn't respond. Instead, alarm is blazing across his face as I watch him scan the paper. He's shaking his head again, like he refuses to believe it.

"Give me the paper, Gray," I say.

He doesn't say anything. He doesn't do anything. It's almost like he's a statue, frozen in time.

"Give me the paper, Gray," I say again, anxiety beginning to pulse through my veins now.

"I should have known." Grayson's voice was swollen with emotion. He sounded just how we did, the night in the Observatory.

"Known what?" I'm beginning to get exasperated now.

He stares up at me, hands trembling slightly. He doesn't speak, just hands me the paper robotically. Jameson huddles up next to me, clearly eager to read the birth certificate as well.

I scan through it.

Name: Leah Effie Adler

Sex: Female

Place of Birth: Vermore Port, Connecticut.

What is Grayson freaking out about? Nothing on this is out of place.

Date of Birth: 10/18/05

Time of Birth: 4:32 AM

Biological Father: Winston Adler

Biological Mother: Mallory Laughlin

I freeze in place. I almost fall out of the chair.

___

The first thought that comes to my head is, I need air. I need to breathe.

The blood pounded in my ears. My heart thudded in my chest. I could feel how my hands shook. My feet tingled while my vision disfigured, as if I were looking through a fish-eye lens.

I knew I had to get away. I couldn't stay in that damned house any longer with those boys. I couldn't look at that certificate any longer. There was too much written on there- just two words that made my whole life a lie. I was stranded. The snowy peaks that were originally beautiful were now my worst enemy. I couldn't get away. I couldn't go anywhere. Drive, and I could cause an accident. Not drive, I would still be too close to what had happened. The closest sign of life was all the way down the mountain and it was cold. Grayson's shirt wasn't doing much to keep me warm. My legs, half bare, felt on the verge of collapse.

I collapsed on a two-person swing that was creepily swinging on its own. I took a long, slow deep breath, then looked back to the door I had just used to leave the house. I was sure that they would know I was here, but they wouldn't follow me. Either way, I was out of sight. That was all that mattered.

I clutched the joints of the swing, my hands wrapped so tightly around it that my nails dug into my palms. The metal of the chains were cold and they stung, but I grit my teeth through the pain. It almost felt good.

Breathing was hard. Really hard. As if I'd just run the New York Marathon.

I cried harder, my mind overwhelmed. Silently, as to not draw attention from the brothers in the cabin. I couldn't control my thoughts or emotions any longer. My tears began to flow as my faculties were completely overwhelmed. My chest grew tight as bile rose in my throat. I could feel my tears freezing on my face. It was surprising that I hadn't caved in to the cold and gone inside. But I guess the cold isn't your prime concern when you've just learned that your mother, who at one point, was your everything, wasn't actually your mother.