“Some kind of payout from an estate.”
“Whose estate?”
Cassidy rolls her eyes. “How the fuck would I know?”
“You signed legal documents about someone you don’t know?” He retorts, waving the papers at her. “Cassidy, you know be?—”
Cassidy leans forward in her chair, interrupting his tirade, “Let me tell you something,Dad,you’re not gonna talk to me in that tone of voice or you’re gonna get the fuck out of my house.”
Conrad’s eyes widen then he looks to me, as if I’m going to help him out here. I smirk, tilt my head with a lift of my shoulder, and he immediately recognizes that he’s on his own in this one. He falls silent, some of the fight fading, but he’s still holding the papers in his hand.
“I for one,” Lilith interjects. “am just tickled that Cassidy isn’t afraid to toss dear old Dad out on his ass.”
Conrad glares at the phone. “Too bad no one asked you.”
Cassidy tries to hide her smile and almost fails as Lilith laughs at Conrad’s petulant tone. They bicker back and forth for a moment, but then the room falls silent again.
“I only signed the initial paperwork, designating my own estate lawyer for them to go through,” Cassidy explains. “I didn’t give them any bank codes or credit card numbers or the deed to my home.”
Conrad snorts, the sound coming out strangely from him. “I mean, I didn’t actually think you did any of that.”
Cassidy smile. “You didn’t raise a fool.”
“Well, if I did,” he responds, a teasing smile on his face. “It would only be because the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.”
They share a fond look, the heaviness in the air slowly lifting. Silence falls over the room, everyone lost in their own thoughts, processing all that has happened and all that we’ve learned.
Finally, Cassidy turns to me and whispers, “I’m tired.”
I immediately stand, offering my hand to help her up. “Conrad, you can let yourself out,” I state and he nods. “Lilith, can we reach you if we have any additional questions?”
“Of course,” she replies without hesitation. “Get my number from Conrad. Call any time.”
‘Thank you,” Cassidy responds, leaning toward the phone as she comes to her feet. “For everything.”
Lilith is quiet for a moment, but then she says, “No, thank you.”
“What?” Cassidy replies, a little laugh escaping. “Thank me for what?”
Lilith sighs heavily. “For reminding me why we do this.”
Cassidy stares at the phone, lips pressed together. She nods, but says nothing, the expression on her face less haunted than before this conversation began.
I help her into the bedroom, staying back when she walks into the bathroom and closes the door. I go about straightening the bedding, tossing the extra pillows aside and making sure she won’t have to get up for anything.
Soon, the bathroom door opens, and she appears, slowly walking toward where I’m standing next to the bed. She looks tired, but just regular tired as opposed to the haunted tired she was previously.
She stops in front of me, all freshly scrubbed and brushed, a spot of moisturizer on her cheek where she missed rubbing it in. Smiling, I dab at it and ask, “How’s your hand?”
She lifts her hand, showing me the fresh bandage. “After further inspection, it’s mostly superficial. Just bled like a bastard.”
I squint at her, unsure if I believe her or not. “I’ll take a look at it in the morning and determine if it needs medical attention.”
She sticks her tongue out at me then says, “You missed practice again.”
I nod. “I’ll be running extra drills for a month at this rate.”
“I’m sure my da?—”
