Chapter 18: Just You Wait

*REAL HADLEY'S POV*

When I get back to my house, I keep expecting Mason to run in and throw me out for what happened with Evie and my parents, but it never happens.  I know my family well enough to know that they won't keep this a secret for long.

The next morning, Mason leaves the house early for practice and I'm left with my fake daughter and the crazy bitch holding my body hostage.  I walk into my bedroom without even knocking.

I open the door and it smells like a mixture of Mason's shampoo and my perfume.  Ugh.  The bitch has been wearing my perfume?  For real?  She's standing there in one of Mason's pajama tops...oooh, keep your cool, keep your cool.

"You're still here?" she asks rhetorically, "I would have thought you would run away by now."

"That's exactly why you'll never be able to pull this off." I tell her, "You don't know me at all.  I'm not the run away from it type.  Trust me."

She smirks, "I don't know why you keep trying.  Mason and I are getting closer each day.  When he finally accepts me completely, it'll be too late for you."

My heart breaks a little bit.  What if that does happen?

She continues, "Of course, I understand why you want to keep him around, he does everything he can to keep me happy..."

If she's getting at what I think she's getting at...

"...and I mean EVERYTHING..."

I bite my lip hard and clench my fists.  Don't hit her, don't hit her, that's what she wants.

I want so badly to punch that satisfied grin off her face, but somehow I manage to keep my cool.  The main thing that is saving her at this point is that if I ever get my body back, I don't want it mangled.

"You know," I start, just thinking of something, "he's never really going to love you."

She laughs, but it's lost some confidence, "Oh, he already does."

"No, he is settling for you...just a pale version of me," I tell her, "See, you might look like me, sound like me, but you'll never be me...and I am the one he loves."

"You underestimate me.  I can ride this memory loss out for a long time." She says.

"Maybe," I tell her, "but it'll only take you so far with Mason.  I know for a fact that he hasn't slept with you."

She glares.  Yup, exactly what I thought.

"How could you possibly know that?" she asks.

"Because Mason will never sleep with you while you can't remember who you are.  He would see it as taking advantage of you.  So he might love you in a way and be there for you, but he'll be here in name only.  He could never truly love you."

She looks a little worried.  Good, but then she says something I wasn't expecting.

"Maybe that's what I want.  It's better than a man who would kill me." She says.

"Kill you?" 

She rolls her eyes.  "How do you think this happened?  The last thing I remember is being so weak I couldn't move, losing a lot of blood, laying on the ground, and seeing Trevor's foot coming down on my face, then when I came to, I was with Mason."

"So...we died?" I ask.

"Of course, you idiot.  That wasn't the first time Trevor did that to me...and he has a friend in the science lab that would bring me back for free, so I'm sure that's what he did."

Ugh, her husband was certainly a piece of shit.

"But you're free of him now," I tell her, "you never have to deal with him again."

"Yes I will.  Trevor never really goes away...trust me, you'd be better off to just leave town.  He'll find you eventually."

"So that's it?" I ask.  "You want to stay in my body just to hide from your abusive husband?"

"That's a perk," she tells me, "but there's also the house...the money...the fame...who wouldn't want your life?  For the first time in my life, I have people who care about me...everyone does...all I have to do is walk out the door and there are paparazzi wanting to take my picture."

"I'm telling you, the charade isn't always going to be enough." I say, "You aren't going to be able to keep it up for long."

"Then you'll help me remember," she says.

"Why would I do that?" I ask.

She smiles, "So I don't kick you out."

"Please, you're going to have to do better than that.  I can find other arrangements...for me and for Keely."

She looks pained.  Hmm...could she actually love her daughter?

Before I can say anything else, her phone rings.

"Hello?...Oh, hi Evie!" she answers.

I roll my eyes as she exaggerates her speech to rub it in.

When she gets off the phone, she gives me a satisfied smirk.

"I'm going to go have lunch with Evie, my bff...says she has something important to tell me..."

"That's fine, keep interacting with them...they'll wise up eventually." I tell her...and I hope I'm right.

*EVIE'S POV*

I call to meet Hadley for lunch to tell her everything that crazy bitch told me yesterday, and help her kick her ass if need be.

When I get there, she looks a little nervous.

"Hey, is everything okay?" I ask her.

"Yeah, everything's fine...how's my bff?" she replies.

I raise my eyebrow.  She's being nicer to me than she has been, maybe she's getting her memory back?

"OMG...you wouldn't believe how many people stopped and asked for my autograph and for me to take pictures with them!  It was awesome!" she tells me.

"Ha, they get to be a nuisance, just wait," I tell her, "but I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Sure, what is it?" She asks.

"It's that Briana chick..." I start.

She rolls her eyes, "Oh her, don't listen to anything she says."

"What?" I ask.

"Just ignore her, I'm dealing with her."

"Well, I did a little digging, and she was in high school with us." I tell her.

She gulps and looks a little stunned, but continues.

"How did you find that out?"

"I have my sources," I say, "apparently she was a couple years younger than us."

"Well, I guess that makes sense, it's a small town."

"Yeah," I continue, "apparently she was a little freak."

Hadley furrows her eyebrows at me.

"You know, it's not very nice to talk about people like that.  Maybe she had a hard life."

"I'm sorry, are we still talking about the person that is running around telling people she is you?"

"You know," she says, "I think I remember something...about a blonde girl...in high school...I think she was just awkward."

Huh?  Of all the things she remembers, she remembers some chick I practically had to do a background check on?

Suddenly, it dawns on me.

"I have to get going," I stand up and get ready to leave.

"Are you sure?" she asks, "We just got here..."

"Uh...yeah...talk to you later."

"'K, Bye!"

I get in my car and make a phone call.

When I get to the destination, she is waiting for me.

"Why did you call me?" she asks.

"Because I know the truth, Hadley."