EIGHT
CASEN
Today is my day off and I contemplate what I should do. I would call Reece but I’m still pissed that I got blindsided the other night. He didn’t think Embyr was coming but did he think ditching me the whole time would sit well with me? It sure the fuck didn’t. I don’t know what is up with him lately either. He hasn’t been the same since Ian died. I know none of us have but I swear something is weighing on him more than the rest of us. He told me they were going to go out that night but he decided at the last minute to cancel. Maybe it’s the “what ifs” that are really getting to him.
I’d hang out with Kate, but she left late last night. I offered for her to stay at my place since I was so close but she declined. I still can’t believe she pushed Embyr and me together. I guess I don’t have to worry about her wanting anything more than just friendship.
It was nice to have Embyr in my arms last night. Her sweet scent stayed on me until my shower this morning. She told me she still loves me but doesn’t know if it matters anymore. It matters so fucking much. I’m just still very torn.
My phone pings with a text.
Mom: I know you’re off today. Want to have lunch in the burbs with your old mom?
Me: You’re not old. I’ll pick you up at noon.
Mom: Can’t wait.
I pick up my mom just before noon and take her to Lou Malnati’s in Buffalo Grove. Deep dish is her favorite and there is no other place she will go for it. It’s lunch time and the wait is long but since we only have two people we are seated within fifteen minutes. We always get a medium deep dish cheese pizza so the server takes our order right away. When she leaves my mom gets right into it.
“Okay, my son. What’s going on?” She smiles, sipping her iced tea. “You’ve been a pissant lately.”
My mom is a beautiful lady. She is aging so well you would think she was my slightly older sister. Her hair is dark, styled straight, and falls down to her shoulders. Her light brown eyes are covered by trendy black glasses. She runs every day, even at fifty-five, and is just as fit as some of the firemen at my house.
I laugh. “Pissant?”
“Yeah, a pissant. Every time I talk to you I sense that someone pissed in your cheerios.”
She is also not one to hold in her cuss words. I think for a moment about what I can say to her and decide to just go with the truth. I haven’t told her much about Embyr. She didn’t show up to the wake until after my scene outside. She has no idea what is going on.
“Mom, I don’t know where to start.” I shake my head and run a hand through my hair.
She taps her chin. “How about the beginning, Casen. Start where it all began.”
“Do you remember Annie?”
Her lips purse. “Annie that you went to high school with?” I nod. “I remember her. Your little crush.” Her smile widens.
I can feel my face flush. There really wasn’t much I could keep from my mom.
“Well.” I start but I need to take a drink of water because, despite her perception, she doesn’t know it all. For her to understand everything she needs to know everything. “You remember what happened to her?”
Her face falls. “Baby, tell me you didn’t have anything to do with that.”
I lower my head in shame. “I know what you’re thinking, Mom, but I have come to the conclusion that I desperately need some advice and I need you not to judge me right now. You are welcome to do it after you help me.”
She just nods but I know she wants to say something. She has never been the type to keep anything in.
“Back in high school I had a crush on Annie, which you obviously knew about. Well the guys, they made fun of me for it. Said there was no way she was interested in me so they made a bet, one that I wasn’t a part of, to get her to go out with them.”
She gasps. “You didn’t stop that?”
I swallow. “Mom.” She makes a zipping motion across her lips. “Well, they made the bet. Without going into too many details that aren’t all that important, Ian won but he also coerced her into sex. It was recorded by Reece’s security camera and then was accidentally released the next year. They tortured her, Mom. Teased her. Tormented her. Had her do their homework and made threats if she didn’t comply. I just stood by and did nothing.”
I take a break because now I know what it did to her and that she never was able to get over it. It fueled her plot of revenge – it guts me.
Mom grabs my hand from across the table. “Have you been thinking of that a lot lately, Casen? Is that what’s going on?”
I shake my head no. “That’s just the start, Mom. Embyr, the girl I told you I was seeing a while back.” She half smiles. “She’s Annie. I found out the day Ian died.” My chest starts to tighten. I’m a manly man but I can feel tears threatening to fall. I sniffle. “She changed her name, her appearance. She was going through the seven of us, one by one, picking us off. She outed Thad and blackmailed Wesley. She made it so clients found out about what Patrick was doing and I’m sure she had something to do with Evan getting caught cheating. I mean, I know they all brought it upon themselves. They were doing shitty things.”
