Chapter 11
I made it to the car without further incident.
But my whole body, heart... soul felt battered.
I felt untethered... adrift.
How had my life come to this?
And what the fuck was that?
Did I imagine it? Or had Andrew's wife threatened my family...
Clara and Jackson were talking when I opened the passenger door and attempted to slide into the seat. But I was shaking so bad that I tripped and ungracefully fell in.
"Aunt Cass, are you ok?"
The sting from my calf catching on the frame of the car was overshadowed by the grief, shame and overwhelming feeling of confusion enveloping me.
I choked back my tears and tried my best fake ass smile. "Oh, I am ok, Jackson, I just tripped."
I could feel Clara studying me, but I tried to ignore her. Thankfully, my nephew decided he was going to hold the lion's share of this conversation.
"It is too bad that we couldn't go to get ice cream with Max and his parents. I think you would like his dad."
I almost choked on air...
"They have this big house and a pool... It's so cool."
My chest felt like it would cave in.
Clara was driving now, but I could feel her eyes on me still. I couldn't look at her; she would know that I was breaking inside, and I still didn't know how to tell my family what I had become.
Jackson had moved on to his phone and was watching what sounded like funny farm animal videos.
"Are you ok, Cassidy. What happened back there?"
God, how could I explain this to my big sister?
"I... please... can we talk later?"
A look I had never seen before passed over Clara's face. "Cass, what is going on?"
I felt a single tear slip free.
Clara must have noticed because her face softened and she nodded, focusing on the drive ahead of us.
We made it back to my parents' place. I couldn't even look at Clara as she drove, so I focused on the changing colours outside, on the sound of the familiar chatter between Jackson and my sister. Her voice always soothed me so much, just like my mom's.
People always said that Clara was the carbon copy of my mom; we looked like sisters, but she had blonde hair and blue eyes.
My brother Chase was the carbon copy of my dad, with dark hair and dark brown eyes.
And I ended up the blend of both, my mom's ice blue eyes and my dad's dark hair and complexion.
Jackson was out of the car as Clara yelled after him to grab his stinky hockey gear and his stuff because his dad should be here any minute.
I barely got the car door open when I felt her hand on my arm. "What was that, Cassidy?"
I wasn't ready for this conversation, so I asked a question back, "What did Mason do to make you file for divorce?"
Her eyes narrowed, and she frowned, "Fuck you, Cassidy, you are not avoiding this conversation. Please don't tell me it's what I think it is."
I heard a car pull up, and look at that, saved by the ex-brother-in-law.
I swung my gaze back to her, "How is it fair that you can ask whatever you want from me, Clara, but you won't tell me what he did?"
I got out of her car and made my way to mine to grab my weekend bag. My phone had quieted for a few minutes, but the alerts were starting to go off again.
Mason got out of his sports car, which was so impractical for the town we lived in and the temperamental Western Canadian seasons.
He looked a little rougher around the edges than he usually did.
People used to call Mason and Clara the perfect couple, Ken and Barbie.
He had wavy blonde hair and dark blue eyes.
Dressed in one of his usual suits. He looked like him, but tired, resigned. .. sad maybe.
I tried to avoid eye contact because I was barely keeping myself together and didn't need a run-in with the golden boy from our town.
"Hey, Cass, can I talk to you for a second?"
Ugh... "Sure, Mason, but answer my question first..."
He stopped in front of me, and I could hear Clara calling for Jackson behind me. "Shoot."
I pointed to his shiny new car and asked, "Aren't you a little young for a midlife crisis car?"
He groaned and ran his hand down his face. "Seriously, Cass? I need your help. Can you not be a brat for two seconds?"
"I'll stop being a brat when you stop being an asshole. What did you do to my sister?"
He looked to the front door of my parents' place and then back at me. "She didn't tell you?"
"Nice avoidance, what do you want, Mason?"
Mason was fidgeting, moving from one foot to the other, and that was so unlike the cocky, sure-of-himself guy I had known most of my life. "I need you to convince Clara to drop this divorce stupidity and come home. I love her, Cassidy!"
I studied him for another minute while I grabbed my things from my car. "What did you do, Mason?"
He looked at his feet, "Which version... what actually happened or what your sister thinks happened?"
"Nope, not helping Mason. You obviously did something horrible for her to walk away from you.
She has loved you for as long as I can remember.
.. You were her sun. So if she has decided she can't live with you anymore, she can't be married to you anymore.
You did something big... You hurt her in a bad way.
And Clara is one of the best people I know.
She has a massive heart, so if she can't forgive you. .."
Mason looked like he was tearing up, "Please, Cass... I need her back... I am so fucked up without her..."
Before he could continue, Jackson was running down the driveway with his bags dragging behind him. Clara was standing on the front porch watching Jackson.
Mason took a step forward and asked. "Clara, can we talk?"
She stood silently until Jackson was at our side, giving me a big hug.
Without even looking in Mason's direction, Clara went back into the house, and he groaned.
"Can you get into the car, buddy? I need to ask Aunt Cass something, and then we can go grab an early dinner and you can tell me about your game."
Jackson threw his bags in the back seat and climbed into the car.
When Mason was sure Jackson couldn't hear, he looked back at me with sad eyes, "Please, Cass, she won't even talk to me."
My phone went off again, and I looked down to see a message from Clara that said, "Tell him to talk to my lawyer."
I showed him the message, and he muttered fuck.
Without saying anything else, I walked away, waving at Jackson and wondering what in the world Mason had done. And yet another crappy reminder of how far I had drifted from my family in this past year. My sister was going through a painful separation and didn't tell me why.
I made my way up the front porch and took in a deep breath, knowing that Clara would not let this go. That she would keep pressing until I told her what was going on with me.
I stepped through the front door and was hit with the smell of my mom's apple pie.
That sent was like a warm hug.
"Is that my baby?" Mom called from the kitchen.
I dropped my things in the mud room and made my way to the kitchen.
Clara was pouring herself a generous glass of wine, and Mom was pulling her pies out of the oven to cool.
Mom finally turned to me and gave me a big smile. "There she is. My baby is home!"
The guilt hit me again. But it was replaced by comfort when my mom walked up and wrapped me in her arms.
I nuzzled in and let her scent wrap around me. She was wearing one of her favourite cashmere sweaters and a pair of jeans, barefoot as she would likely be until snow hit the ground.
She pulled back a bit from me, "Let me see my beautiful girl, it feels like too long since I have seen this face in person." Mom's smile was replaced with a frown. "Have you been crying, Cassidy?"
Clara, coming up for air from her wine, chimed in, "Something is wrong, and she won't talk."
Mom was still studying my face, so I asked, "Is Dad out back by the barbecue?"
"Stop avoiding, Cassidy. What is going on with you?"
Mom brushed my hair back from my face, so similar to how Victoria had, that an involuntary shiver ran through me.
"Your father is out back with Chase getting ready for the Palmers. Brody is back for good, so we are taking advantage of this beautiful weather before the snow hits. Are you here till Thanksgiving?"
Fuck, how had I not realized that Thanksgiving was this week?
"I have to work, Mom, I am only off for the weekend. I will come back for Thanksgiving, though the bookstore is closed."
Mom sighed and turned back to Clara, "Grab enough wine to share if you are planning on drinking that bottle to yourself. Let's go see the boys, shall we?"
Mom led the way while Clara grabbed a few bottles of wine and followed closely behind, "I am not dropping this, Cass."
I tried to ignore her and picked up my pace, hoping for a break from Clara when I reached my dad.
He was in the outdoor kitchen that my family had built a few years ago, a beautiful brick, stone, and wood setup that they used for the better part of three seasons of the year.
"There is my baby." And just like mom, he wrapped me up in his arms and gave me a good squeeze.
Clara didn't stop, though she placed the bottles of wine down on the wooden table, "Something is going on with Cassidy, and she won't talk."
Dad pulled back and asked, "Have you been crying, Cassidy?"
"Why is Cass crying?" Chase asked as he joined the group.
"I am not crying," I muttered.
"No, not now, but she was, she looked like she saw a ghost at the arena and bolted for the bathroom, came back looking like she had been crying."
What was wrong with my sister today? "Back off, Clara..."
"What happened at the arena?" Chase asked.
Clara jumped back in like I wasn't even here. "I was talking with Victoria Brooks, and her husband came up beside her. Cass freaked out and ran off."
"How do you know the Brooks?" My mom asked.
I needed to sit down or steal some of Clara's wine.
Clara was in front of me now, one hand holding her glass and the other propped up on her hip. My Family had me circled, and it felt like I couldn't breathe.
"Ya, Cass, how do you know Victoria and Andrew?"
"Did Victoria say something to you?"
Clara answered for me, "No, she didn't say a thing to her, she freaked when Andrew came up, but it was when Max ran up to ask about ice cream that she lost it."
"Did Mr Brooks say something, Cassidy?" My dad asked.
My chest felt like it was tightening, I could feel the tears start to fall, and I couldn't stop them.
"She looked upset when she got in my car before the game, said it was about the guy she has been seeing and won't let any of us meet." Clara continued.
Chase pulled me to him, "Cassidy, what is going on? Why are you crying?"
"Cass, are you okay?"
"What is wrong? You can tell us anything?"
I couldn't answer them because I was watching in real time as my sister finally caught on, the second it clicked, and her face went from concern to shock. She gasped, and my family all looked her way.
"Are you having an affair with Andrew Brooks?"
A sob tore free, and I could feel my family's eyes on me. No one was talking, and I couldn't bear to see the looks on their faces right now.
It felt like this couldn't get any worse, but then I heard, "Should we come back later?"
And my whole family turned in unison to see Brody Palmer and his parents standing in our backyard.