by T. Starnes
"That's great. I know we only touched on it a little bit, but I have some ideas," Mom said.
"Me too," Zoe added.
"Good, because I am going to put you guys in charge of it," I told them.
Everyone simultaneously started protesting my statement until I cut them off.
"I can't run it, at least not directly. I mean, I am CEO of the company putting up the money, and I will have stuff with the company to focus on. Plus, all of you have the ability to do this. You have been enhanced or whatever, so you sure as hell are smart enough. And you've all got good hearts. You won't be on it alone. I will make sure we have some good professional help to keep us from stepping in it, too bad.”
Everyone got silent again, probably thinking of what that future would be like, but I went back to worrying about Emily. Thankfully, the phone finally rang not much later.
"How bad is it?" I asked as soon as I picked up the handset, assuming it was Jonathan.
Thankfully, it was.
"Bad, but I think your friend will be ok, legally speaking. I contacted a friend of mine and hired him for her on your behalf. He of course can't tell me anything because of attorney client privilege, but I also talked to some friends at the station, and the DA's office.”
"It seems her father fell off the wagon tonight, hard, following an argument with his wife. We don't know specifics, since he isn't talking. The evidence seems pretty clear that he attacked her and savagely beat her. Emily called the police, and then intervened.”
"Really?" I asked. Stepping up to her father was the one thing she had never done before.
"Yes. She tried to stop him, and when he turned on her, she defended herself with a kitchen knife. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Her mother's injuries were quite severe. They took her into surgery right away, but the trauma to her head was too bad, and she died a little while ago.”
"Was Emily hurt?" I asked.
"No, and it seems almost certain the District Attorney is going to classify this as self-defense. Legally, I think she should be fine. However, there is now the issue of guardianship for her. Her mother had no siblings and her parents are deceased. Her father also had no siblings, but his parents are still alive. I do not know if they have been in contact with them yet, but it seems likely that they will be given guardianship of Emily.”
"When will we know?" I asked.
"Probably not until tomorrow," he answered.
"OK, thanks, Jonathan," I said and hung up.
Chapter 23
Jonathan called the next day, just to let us know he still didn't know anything. It was nice of him to call, but it didn't keep me from feeling like we were in limbo, waiting to find out what happened.
For a full week Emily went 'radio silent', with no real news coming from anywhere, not even from Jonathan. It seemed likely the DA would decline to prosecute her for the death of her father, citing self-defense; but he was still considering the investigation, and hadn't made a decision yet.
It seemed likely that her grandparents were going to get custody of her, but since they were the parents of her father, whom she had killed, Child Protective Services were still considering the option and had yet to make a decision.
While I knew what decision I wanted the DA to go with, thinking about her custody arrangement only upset me. If her grandparents did get custody she would be moving to Florida where they lived. Beyond that I had specific concerns with them. There was not only the fact that they had to harbor some kind of resentment towards Emily for the death of their son, these were people who raised a man who was capable of beating his wife to death.
Of course, the alternative was going into the foster system as a teenager. While my time in the system wasn't terrible, it wasn't a life I would wish on anyone. Plus, she would most likely end up moving around a lot.
But my real issue was that, regardless of what happened, it was clear she would be going away. The foster system would probably have her in one of the bigger cities, her grandparents lived in Florida, and then there was jail. Any way this would go, it meant I would be losing her.
I know many people would wonder what I was so upset about. I had my Zoe, Vicki and Tami in my life already and nothing had happened with Emily yet. It was something I had been thinking about. For some reason the girls were pushing hard to add people to our little group, and I was falling hard for those same people.
I had no way of proving it but my guess was it was somehow a byproduct of my genetics. Not that I had mentioned it to anyone yet, because how do you test for impulses? What I did know is my genetics were aggressive in trying to propagate themselves. Putting that together with the girls feeling a strong impulse to add new girls and me falling quickly for the same girls, it couldn't be a coincidence.
Thursday rolled around. It was my birthday, or at least the day we had picked after the Greys had adopted me. I knew a party was planned, but wasn't sure of the details. It wasn't a surprise party, but it had been made clear that I was to stay out of the way until it was time for the party to start.
I was up early, and just home from my morning run when Emily finally called.
"Hey, Cas," she said when I picked up.
"Emily! How are you? I've been worried.”
"I know. I'm ok, I guess. We got the news today that they aren't going to try and throw me in jail, so that's good. They also decided I am going to live with my grandparents.”
"At least the decision is made now. Moving to Florida isn't as bad as being in limbo.”
"I guess. I don't really want to go. I just got friends. And you're here," she said, sounding sad.
"I know, and just because you're in Florida, doesn't mean we can't all still be friends. Three years and we're off to college. I'm sure the girls are already plotting to get us all back together.”
"That's a long time, but you're right. I guess I also kind of don't want to go with them. The way they look at me …" she said, leaving the sentence hanging.
"I was worried about that. How bad is it with them?”
"Pretty bad. I get the feeling they aren't really getting much of a choice in taking me, since they are my only living relatives, but I can tell they don't want to. They haven't said anything, yet, but I can tell.”
"Were you close with them before all this?" I asked.
"Not really. I had only met them once or twice. They moved to Florida and gave Dad the farm when I was still a baby. Dad never wanted to go see them and they were never invited for family stuff. At least not that I can remember.”
I paused for a long time, trying to think of how to best say what else was on my mind.
"Emily, I'm sorry things ended up the way that they did. I …”
"No," she said, interrupting me, "I know what you're thinking. I know you threatened him to get him to stop hitting me and my mom. I'm glad you did it. These last months have been the happiest I can ever remember. Even my mom was starting to seem like a person again. You don't know what it was like living in this house … before. We were always scared. Scared we would set him off. We tip-toed through life. It isn't a way to live.”
"Look how it turned out," I countered.
"We were always headed for this Cas. Every year it was getting a little worse. You only changed one thing. You gave me confidence. You gave me some time away from the constant fear. You taught me to stand up for myself. The only thing you changed was I didn't end up in the morgue with my mom. Because before you, that was where this was really headed. It would have been me instead of him.”
I had a small internal battle with myself. I had a tendency towards self-pity, and I still felt bad about my actions in how things ended. But, she was right, I could see that. Her father had a lot of rage in him, and the drinking made it worse.
"I'm glad it didn't end that way. I'm still sorry for your mother.”
"Yeah," she said softly, "I miss her already. She tried hard to protect me. I know she really loved me.”
I heard speaking in the backgr
ound. Emily's voice became muffled as she covered the handset so she could talk to them.
"I gotta go, soon," she said after finishing her conversation. "I don't know when we will be able to talk again. My grandparents know about you, and I've heard them talking. They place a lot of blame on you for everything.”
I thought for a second and said, "Then it's best if they don't catch us talking on the phone. Let's stick to email for now, until we can figure out something else.”
"Ok. I'll miss you," she said, sounding a bit teary.
"Yeah, I'll miss you, too. Can you talk to the others?”
I went and got the girls, and they each took a few minutes to talk to Emily. They had all gotten close over the last six months, and I knew her leaving hurt them as bad as it hurt me.
They were still on the phone when people started showing up. I think they had originally planned a big group, but with everything that was happening with Emily, I asked them to tone it down. It was mostly just those I had labeled as The Family. Mostly that was the people who were in the know about my abilities, and nearly all had been altered themselves. The girls, Tina and Mom of course, as well as Alex, Megan and Sarah, who was being included in the group more and more now that she knew what was happening.
While Marcus, Ted and Jonathan all knew about me, and were counselors to be sure, they all seemed to prefer we kept things on a more professional footing. This tended to beg off invites to social gatherings. Part of that was probably the vast age difference between my group of friends and theirs.
Josh and Amanda were also in the know, and while I wouldn't have minded Amanda, Josh was getting on my nerves, more and more each day.
It was a subdued affair. We ate cake and presents were given out. Although I was now sixteen and would be hitting the DMV the next day for my license, there wasn't the more traditional present of a car. Considering my new financial state, we had agreed I would go get my own car, although the girls had made it clear that they were going with me to pick out something 'appropriate'. I, of course, agreed; having already come to the realization that I was only allowed decisions on the big things, like what to eat for breakfast and what socks I could wear. This was fine by me, since I knew they quite literally had my best interests in mind. I would put my foot down if it was anything I really disagreed with, but that was a card best held until needed.
I looked at my amazing family and thought back over the previous year. So much had happened, some of it great, other parts less so. Emily was going to be a hole in my world for a while, I knew. But, I also knew we would find a way for her to come back to us. Unlike other kids our age, our plans were long term. I already knew she would somehow figure into our future.
I also would regret how the situation with Margret had ended, for the rest of my life. I didn't blame myself for it, since there was no way to know that was going to happen, but all the same I felt bad that it had happened.
It wasn't all bad. I mean, I was now ridiculously rich, and able to move forward with my plans. The company was focused on humanitarian projects, now, such as the charity organization I wanted to start. It was going to be a real thing, and we had a path for how to make the world a place we would want our kids to live in.
There was still a lot to be done. But I was convinced we would make this work. One day, Humanity would be ready to take it's next step.
END
About The Author
T. Starnesisa freelance writing living in Texas. He has a love for books of all types, but preferably sci-fi, mystery and the occasional history.
Find out more at
amazon.com/T-Starnes/e/B016APILAY
Or visit tstarnes.com
Other Books By T. Starnes
Other books available on kindle
In The Destiny Saga
Destiny’s Road
Destiny’s Interlude: A Summer’s Cruise (Coming Soon)
What Lies Ahead (Coming Soon)
No Good Deed (Coming Soon)
Other Works
Letting Go (Coming Soon)