by Raven Scott
“I’m sure you weren’t. It’s funny how things work out like that. My parents were terrible and I turned out pretty okay, I think.” She reached over to pat my hand, and I smiled as warmth suffused my chest. “David’s really a wonderful man. You should be so proud of him.”
“I am. I know how lucky I am.”
A soft hand touched my shoulder and I twisted as David sat next to me and his dad sat by his mom. He grabbed my hand under the table as he just radiated happiness and relief. After all the stress over the weekend, I was glad things had worked out for him and my heart grew full.
My phone pinged shrilly from in my purse, and I bit my lip as I fished out the device. I was a little surprised at the caller and I shot David an apologetic look before standing. “I’ll be right back. I’m so sorry, I’ll just be a minute.” Wandering away to answer the call, I frowned darkly, and agitation twitched my eyelid. “Carlyle? What’s up?” Even I could tell I was annoyed at his call.
He cleared his throat roughly over the line.
The fine hairs on my cheek stood up as anticipation flooded my veins. Rarely, did Carlyle just call me out of the blue anymore.
“I know this is a bad time for you, but I just thought you should know that your boyfriend’s parents’ house is on fire. Their address just pinged.”
My heart leapt into my throat and for a moment, the world went black. Just for a brief fraction of a second. I paused, sucking in a sharp breath as shock nearly rattled my teeth. “What the fuck did you just say!” My shout echoed through the whole restaurant, and I whirled around as red seeped into my field of vision. Ringing drowned out all other sounds and I hung up on Carlyle as a huge, dense lump formed in my throat. Shaking from the anger— the audacity— that coursed through me, I stormed past my table.
Quizzical gazes followed me from all directions.
I paused when I remembered David and his parents. Shit. I mean, it was one thing to tell him about that awful man and what I did, but I couldn’t get away with that with his sister. Turning back around on my heel, I grabbed his hand and hauled him off a few feet then I stated, “Your house is on fire.”
Alarm brightened his grey eyes like lightning.
I flexed my fingers as tension gripped every muscle in my body. “What do you want to do?”
“What? We need to go—”
Holding a finger to his lips, my eyes narrowed into fine points.
David stiffened with a sharp inhale. “What? You can’t kidnap Sarah or anything, Ness. It was one thing with Sam, but... And we don’t even know if she set it.”
“That’s not what I mean. I doubt the fire trucks even got there, yet. Carlyle monitors the lines for...” Trailing off when David paled a little at the mention, I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. I meant— do you want to tell your parents, or...?”
“Why wouldn’t we? It’s my mom’s house. I can’t just not tell her because it’ll ruin our dinner.” Covering his mouth to squeeze his cheeks together, David closed his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nose. “Did he say anything about Sarah?”
“No, but I can find her if you want.” I glanced over his shoulder at his parents.
David spent a second stabilizing himself.
“I don’t want to get this tangled up, David. Either the police look for her, or I look for her. There’s not much room for overlap.”
“... If she set the fire, I don’t know if we’d even have to look for her. She wasn’t home earlier. She’s hiding from my dad. I guess, it’s possible that she went back after he left, but... I don’t know. We don’t know what’s going on.” Turning around on his heel, David walked back with a hard set to his shoulders to sit down stiffly.
This time, I put my hand on his shoulder.
He cleared his throat roughly before speaking up, “Um... I don’t know how to explain this, but the— the house is on fire.”
Just as David’s mom’s jaw fell onto the table in shock, her cell phone rang shrilly, and she scrambled to fish it out of her own purse. Her whole face turned beet red.
I squeezed David’s shoulder as she answered the call.
“Sarah? Honey—” She covered her mouth in horror.
Sarah talked so loudly that I could almost make out what she was saying. Almost.
“Oh— okay. I— I’m on my way. What happened?” But she didn’t move and the redness in her face dimmed slightly as Sarah blabbed on and on, obviously crying and kinda hysterical. Even a few feet away, that much was obvious, and the older woman’s brows furrowed deeply. “Why were you trying to light the fireplace? You know it doesn’t work. It hasn’t worked in over ten years, Sarah.” David’s mom was nice and she gave many chances, but that didn’t mean she was stupid. Everyone had that one penny that toppled the whole tower…she pursed her lips thinly as the slight wrinkles on her face deepened. “But you specifically asked if the fireplace worked like, a month ago. It’s not like we don’t have central heating, either. There’s no reason to try to light the fireplace.”
“Hang up the phone, Jackie,” David’s dad ground the demand through his teeth.
She hesitated before slowly lowering the phone from her ear.
“We’ll work it out. Just hang up the phone.”
“But—”
He shot her a downright mean glare, snatching her phone and tapping the ‘End Call’ button hard. Setting the device face down on the table, Trevor sat back and cast me a pointed glance. “I’m not letting that wretched excuse for a daughter ruin this night. We will work it out. Tomorrow. Please, have a seat.”
Oh-h dang. I didn’t bother protesting before seating myself again and I held David’s hand under the table. My heart beat fast, but the awkward, mutedly angry silence didn’t last long.
David’s father nodded. “I’ve never been here before. What do you suggest, Vanessa?”
“Oh, I’ve never been here, either. I thought it’d be an adventure.” A joke about needing a fire-breathing dragon on an adventure tickled my ribs, but I managed not to squawk it out.
Trevor’s sheer force of will was almost enough to dissolve the shock and upset at the table, and he opened his menu with a flourish.
“Um, are you sure it’s okay to just... let the house burn?” I asked him.
“It’ll be a mess regardless. We haven’t been together in a long time. I’m not letting Sarah ruin this like she tried in the past. We’re adults, now. She can deal with the consequences of her own messes.”
Biting my bottom lip hard, I kept my mouth shut at the finality in his tone. It’s not really my place, anyway. Chances are, they won’t get called until after dinner, anyway. There’s no point in trying to race all the way there if the house can’t be saved, anyway.
“What about all your knickknacks and stuff, Mom?”
She cast a sort of crestfallen smile at David.
I found it hard to believe there wasn’t anything sentimental she was worried about, and my chest tightened at the sadness in her eyes.
“Anything truly important got stolen a long time ago. My wedding rings, my mom’s necklace— it’s all gone. I guess, Sarah decided to literally burn her only bridge left.”
My heart ached, and David frowned.
“But Trevor is right. It’s been a long time since we’ve all been together, and Sarah’s not going to ruin it.”
31
David
“... You okay, Mom?”I really wasn’t sure how much back-and-forth I could take tonight. My mom was on her third or fourth glass of wine, but no one wanted to say anything.
She lowered her wine glass to stare at me under droopy eyes, and concern knitted my brows.
“You all right?”
“I’m old enough that drinking away my problems is an okay thing to do, David.” My mom knocked back the rest of her wine.
A tight smile stretched my lips at that. The air was tense; I’d never seen my mom get drunk. There was just something weird about the whole notion of my mom getting shitfaced that made me mightily uncomfort
able. She wasn’t the only one drinking, but she was drinking with the purpose to forget and my heart squeezed painfully.
Her and my phones kept going off, but my dad made us put our phones on silent. No doubt, Sarah was going to try to spin the situation until she was the victim, and I stared at my empty plate under tightly knit brows.
“You know, now that my house is probably not worth salvaging, I think I want to go on cruises and vacations until I die.” My mom slurred slightly, her face breaking out in a huge, excited, tipsy smile at her own declaration. Turning to my dad, she nodded to herself more than him, as he cast her a surprised look. “I would like that. I’ll talk to my friend, Mary, and we’ll go out and see the world.”
“Maybe I’ll join you when Katherine divorces me.” Trevor nodded.
My mom scoffed overly loud across the table.
The waitress appeared with the check.
My smile became a little easier as I rubbed Vanessa’s hand under the table.
She’d been quiet her baby blues bright with nerves and the accomplishment of successfully making it through dinner with my parents. “Do you want me to set you up in a hotel for the next few days?” Vanessa slapped down a debit card before the waitress bounced off.
My dad immediately shook his head.
“Are you sure? I really don’t mind. Honestly, I can’t help but feel a bit responsible for this... um— predicament.”
“Oh, please. My insurance doesn’t cover arson. If I try to put in a claim, I’m going to get denied. I’m going to book myself a cruise... to... to... Brazil! That’s right. Somewhere warm. Maybe, I’ll even go to Hawaii!” My mom smacked her palm against the table softly, determination blazing in her eyes as she nodded to herself yet again. “I’ll retire. I have this completely under control.”
“Mom—”
Across the table, my dad held up a hand to stop me.
I pursed my lips thinly. Sitting back, I just gave up on trying to find a solution to this problem right now. My dad’s still pushy as ever. “I’m glad I didn’t take that job even more, now.”
“Yeah. It seems like the universe is just throwing stuff at you. Hopefully, things will calm down now.” My mom licked her lips heavily.
I arched a brow at her.
Vanessa leaned over to whisper in my ear, “Do you want a hotel room, or... maybe, you could come stay with me? Possibly.”
“It’s up to you what you’re comfortable with Ness, but I’d like to stay with you. I wasn’t sure if I should ask or if you’d offer, so I didn’t say anything.”
Triumph brightened her eyes as she leaned back to sigh softly.
I smiled. “Thank you for not trying to fight me about Sarah.”
“I’d rather fight her, not you.” Sipping the last of her own wine, Vanessa’s eyes danced with fire that reflected in her glass.
Chuckling a little at that, I shook my head even though she was completely serious.
“Besides, it’s your battle and making it about me is wrong. I have firsthand experience with what happens when other people come crashing into your life and take over your decisions because they’re upset. It doesn’t end well.”
“Well, I suppose it’s about that time to answer my phone.” My mom sighed blusteringly across the table, reaching for her phone. It’d been lighting up every other minute from my sister’s calls, and the table drenched in silence as she swiped the ‘Accept’ button. “Hello?” She listened for a minute. “This is she... yes, I’m aware. My daughter set my house on fire and called me to tell me.” In her tipsy state, my mom barked out a laugh. “Of course not! I have no reason to see her. Why? So, she can lie up and down and sideways?”
“Jackie, give me the phone. You’re drunk.”
For the first time, maybe ever, I was witnessing the monstrous toll Sarah had taken on my mom. It was heartbreaking, watching her frown, rosy-cheeked and with nothing else to give. No fucks, no excuses— my mom was just done, and all I could think was...
It’s a real shame that Sarah had to burn the fucking house down to get to this point.
“Hello. Yes, I’m Trevor, Sarah’s father. What hospital is she at?”
Once again, the waitress appeared and Vanessa studiously focused on making her signature as perfect as perfect could be.
“We’ll be there.” Hanging up curtly, my dad put my mom’s phone in his pocket and leaned back to close his eyes. Anger stiffened his shoulders, but he’d kept a calm head so far.
Seeing Sarah in person might tip of him over the edge, though.
“Tonight is going to be long.” I knew it would be, but not in this way.
My dad frowned at me under brows permanently knitted together.
Unfurling my fingers from Vanessa’s, I stood up to pull out her chair. “I’ll see you back at your place, okay, Ness?”
“Yeah, of course. Take all the time you need.”
Warmth suffused my chest at her immediate answer, as I rounded the table to help my mom up.
“I’ll order your car,” Vanessa added.
“You’re so wonderful. You better marry her, David. She’s wonderful.” My mom patted my chest hard.
Rubbing the back of my neck uncomfortably, a little laugh escaped me. Vanessa blushed fiercely, and I wrapped my arm around my mom as she smiled, oblivious. “You said it yourself, David. You were worried she’d escalate the issue. Well, she escalated. So, now she’s going to meet the Mom I never wanted to show her. Trevor isn’t the only one that can be mean. He’s just better at it than me.”
“I’d prefer reactive enforcement, Jackie.” My dad tugged my mom to him and nodded his head at me. “You go, David. I’ll handle this.”
I frowned. “Uh— yeah, Dad... I really should go. It’s my home and I have stuff I would hope to recover. Even without that, I want to see it for myself.”
Vanessa walked over with my mom’s coat, holding it out for us.
My mom started fluttering over her once again. She was far less indecipherable this time.
I shot my girl an apologetic look. “You understand needing to see it, Ness.”
“Yeah— no, of course, you should go. I understand, totally.” Relief slumped my shoulders a little when she agreed with me, no questions.
Vanessa flashed me a small smile. “Ok, I’ll call for your car to come around the front.”
“You’re the best.”
Vanessa blushed fiercely as we made our way out into the frigid air. Pulling out her cell phone, she tapped around with her thumb and put on her coat absently.
She was so beautiful, and the white cloud that escaped me when I breathed was denser the longer I looked at her. “My mom’s right, you know. You are wonderful.”
“Moms are usually right. Your car should be here before mine.”
The cold nipped my ears and dried my nose when I inhaled.
Vanessa slipped her phone away. “I’ll see you in the morning, anyway. Unless you want to take the day off? I’ll completely understand.”
“I’ll let you know later after we check the house and go to the hospital.” Tonight was going to be long. I reached over to grab her hand. Vanessa’s warmth swept up my arm and into my chest. Sometimes, it was hard to remember that her bullshit was over while mine was seemingly reaching its peak.
A light blue sedan pulled up to the curb and my dad popped open the door to slide into the back.
Shuffling my mom in behind him, I shut the door and turned to Vanessa. “I’ll text you, Ness.”
“Yeah. Whenever you can.”
Popping open the passenger door, I climbed into the passenger seat with a heavy sigh. Rubbing my face roughly, a groan lodged in my throat at the idea of not having a home to go back to. Sarah was probably going psycho in the hospital and my mom was pretty drunk. “This is a mess.” I fumbled with my seatbelt, twisting to look at my dad before the car rolled forward. “This sucks, but I’m glad you’re here, Dad.”
“The shitty times are when it’s most important to be he
re. I know I’ve been scarce, David, but you’re my boy, and I’ll come when you need me.”
I nodded my cheek twitching as I turned back around.
“Your girlfriend seems nice... kinda hardass, but nice.”
“You have no idea. She’s great and beautiful, and I’m lucky.” My dad smiled a little, and warmth suffused my chest as I turned back around. “So, what about you and your wife? Are you gonna let her know what’s going on?”
“Katherine wants a divorce, and I know I wasn’t the best husband, but maybe I can be a good friend.”
Arching a brow quizzically, I rubbed my jaw.
My dad chuckled darkly. “I’m not good at this marriage stuff, obviously.”
“I’m glad you’re my dad, though.”
He reached to grab my shoulder and squeezed.
I smiled broadly. My dad wasn’t a physically affectionate guy; he pushed and forced me to be the best man I could be though, and that was always good enough. Of course, it sucked when I was a teenager and didn’t like it, but I wouldn’t be the man I was without him being an absolute dick.
32
David
“David? I’m Mark Landry. It’s nice to meet you.”
Shaking his hand, curiosity scrambled my brain as he scanned me, holding my palm harder and for longer than necessary.
“I’ll be representing your insurance claim and any charges you want to file against your sister.”
“Oh... I-I’m sorry, but how’d you find out?”
He sort of smirked a little.
My lips thinned when he finally let go of my hand. Reaching to rub the back of my neck awkwardly, I glanced around the hospital lobby with a sigh building in my chest. “Did Vanessa call you or something?”
“No. I work for Carlyle Santino. He likes to do things quickly.”
My lips parted in surprise.
Landry chuckled lightly as he waved a hand. “If you’d like to wait to discuss what’ll happen next, I’m available any time. I would like to observe your meeting with your sister, if that’s okay with you. I understand she lies a lot. I imagine anyone defending her will have a rough time.”