And whose fault is that?
Luis chewed his lip watching the call end and another one start. Five rings later, the guilt won.
“Hello?” His voice was raspy from crying.
“Dude, are you okay?” Cassie asked. She sounded worried.
“Fine. Sorry I’m… sick,” Luis said.
There was a rustling sound, then a ping. Luis pulled his phone from his ear to see her requesting a video call.
Fuck.
“Pick up Luis,” she said.
But he was still in bed in last night’s clothes, his curtains drawn so the room was dark. There were poptart crumbs all over his bed, and he was sure his hair looked like a habitat for small birds.
Not to mention whatever his cheek now looked like.
“I’m not really—”
“Not really fine?” Cassie cut in. “Yeah, I figured after the seventh ignored text and the cryptic post your mom made on Facebook. Don’t bullshit me.”
“Mom posted on Facebook?” Luis sat up.
Luis swiped the call aside and then opened up the app. The post popped up immediately.
She’d quoted a Bible verse about evil, and then made several vague comments about ‘betrayal’ and ‘a mother’s burden’. She’d even thrown in a few slurs.
He took a shaky breath.
“Luis?” Cassie’s voice was careful.
“I’m fine.”
“Hey babe,” her voice went softer, and it made more tears well up. “Answer the video call. It’s okay, whatever happened, it’s okay.”
He sniffed and tapped to accept the video. There was barely enough light in the dark room to see himself on the screen as it connected.
“Are you in bed?” Cassie asked.
“Maybe," he wiped at his eyes.
Cassie frowned. She was in her bedroom at her desk. She brought the phone closer to try and see him better. “What’s going on?”
“Mom showed up at my apartment last night,” Luis said. “Or rather, she was in my apartment when I came home.”
Cassie’s brows went up. “I’m guessing you didn’t invite her.”
“No.” He scraped a hand through his snarled hair. God, he looked a mess. “I’ve been… kind of avoiding her for weeks.”
“Oh. So she showed up,” Cassie said, because she knew Luis’s mom. Had played nice with her for well over a decade now. “What happened?”
“Well, it was Friday, so I was coming home from the bar. Late.” His throat did something funny, and he coughed to try and cover it. “Um. It was like two in the morning, and I found out she’d been waiting for me.”
“How’d she get in?” Cassie asked. Then her mouth dropped open in realization. “Luis.”
“I gave her the spare key a long time ago, it was the only way to get her to let up.” Which was true, but he was ashamed of it.
