Chapter 23 Shes Just Sensitive
~Felicity~
The first thing I sensed when I woke was Caden's arms wrapped around me—the first time, in fact, since before my birthday.
Through the back windows, I could feel late afternoon sun streaming in, touching the skin of my arms as it sunk down preparing to set for the day.
The hum of the AC was still lulling me even as I forced myself to not fall back asleep.
Laying there, I listened to my husband's steady breathing, feeling the rise and fall of his chest beneath my cheek.
It was surreal, this peace. After everything we'd been through, the fights, the silence, the separate rooms, the separate states even— yet here we were—together. The locket felt warm against my throat, laying between us, a sign of something deeper as it sat touching both our chests.
"Hey," he said softly, and I realized he'd been awake, probably watching me sleep.
"Hey yourself." I stretched slightly, but remaining wrapped in the warmth of his embrace. "What time is it?"
"Almost four."
"Hey—so, Macy will probably be getting home soon, right?
" I asked while pulling up to a sitting position.
Not waiting for his response, I continued "I want to call her," I said, sitting up slowly.
"I need to thank her properly for everything she did.
Make sure she doesn't think I blame her for the purse—and that she knows how much everything here meant to me. "
Caden smiled, that soft expression I'd missed so much. "She's going to be over the moon to hear from you. She's been so worried."
Caden stood, went to the kitchen. I heard the sound of the espresso machine whirring.
Minutes later, he returned with an espresso for each of us in hand.
She aroma flowed through my senses. He didn't even have to ask—he just knew I'd want one.
I reached for the double he'd brewed for me and smiled as I felt his lips brush mine lightly as I took the cup from him.
Coffee in hand, I reached for my phone on the coffee table.
My heart was already lifting at the thought of hearing Macy's voice—at knowing how excited she will probably be.
There isn't much more fun than sensing a kid's excitement—at any age, I've come to realize.
Getting ready to hear her talk a mile a minute I smiled as I scrolled for her name.
Touching on her contact, I heard the phone rang once, twice, then—.
"Hello?" Jessica's voice, crisp and slightly irritated.
My good mood faltered immediately—I double checked and confirmed I'd clicked the right name, "Oh—Hi, Jessica. It's Felicity. Is Macy available?"
A pause that felt loaded with something I couldn't identify. "She's... busy right now. Homework."
"Oh." I glanced at Caden, who was sitting up now, paying attention to my expression. Something in Jessica's tone felt off, but I couldn't put my finger on what. "Could you tell her I called? I wanted to thank her for something."
"I'll let her know." Jessica's tone was dismissive, like she was already ending the conversation.
The brush-off stung more than it should have. This was about Macy, not about whatever issues Jessica had with me. "Actually, could I just say hi quickly? It'll only take a minute."
Silence. I looked at the phone and saw that she had disconnected the call. What the hell? Looking over at Caden, I saw he was just as annoyed as I.
I called again. After a single ring, "Felicity, I said she's busy and can't speak right now." The call was disconnected again.
Caden stood up. "Are you kidding?" He pulled out his own phone and dialed Jessica's cell, placing the phone on speaker.
"Hi, Caden," was the response he got.
"Jessica, did you just hang up on Felicity? Twice?"
"Caden, Macy is busy right now," she says in a placating voice. "I was just trying to help her understand that it's not a good time. It's not my fault that Felicity went crying to you because she is just sensitive."
I mouthed to him, with as angry a face as I could muster, "What the fuck!? Sensitive?!"
"Jessica, I was sitting right here with her when she called. Don't try and play that game. We'll discuss this another time. Put my kid on the phone."
Jessica sighed, "Caden, I'm trying to avoid drama. Macy said she didn’t want to talk right now, and I think it’s best if we just respect that.
I think she feels like she was made to apologize for something you did, Caden.
And now she doesn't want to talk to Felicity.
This isn't my problem. It's yours. So don't put this on me. I'm trying to be nice h—"
"What the hell are you talking about Jess—you know what? It doesn't matter. Put Macy on the phone."
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm not letting my daughter get caught in the middle of whatever you have going on there. You need to shape up Caden. Whatever is happening is not okay. I don't think I want her over there for a while. It's not healthy."
"Jessica, you better put my daughter on the phone, or so help me God you will be hearing from my lawyer before the day is out."
"Don't you threaten me Caden Barrett!" Jessica barked. Her voice and tone were getting louder and significantly more agitated—way more agitated than the situation called for.
"Jessica, that's enough. I don't know what's going on here, or why you're trying to keep me from my kid, but I will figure it out. We are on our way over."
"Why, Caden? I already told you I don't like how things are unfolding and that she won't be coming over for a while."
"You can't keep me from her, Jessica. She is my daughter, and our agreement clearly states you can't prevent me from seeing her."
"Caden, Macy doesn't want to see you. This isn't about me! It's about you and your wife. You know what? I have a seriously painful migraine Caden, and you’re just making it worse."
"I'm coming over and you better have my kid ready to see me or maybe we'll be revisiting our custody agreement!" He hung up, his face flushed with anger.
I stared at him, my mind reeling. "What just happened? Yesterday Macy was planning to help you with my surprise, and today she suddenly doesn't want to talk to me? Something isn't right here, Caden."
"None of this makes sense," Caden said, pacing now. "Jessica's lying. I know she is. But why? What's she trying to hide?"
I felt a chill run down my spine. "Caden, she's been increasingly hostile toward me for a while.
I let it be—didn't want to make waves given how much else has been going on.
But now she's actively preventing contact with Macy, making up stories about how Macy feels—there's something going on and it can't just be about me. "
He stopped pacing and looked at me. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know exactly, but her behavior feels desperate.
Why would she try to keep us away from Macy when she doesn't even really know what's happening between us?
Even Macy doesn't know the details—just that I went away for my birthday and the thing with the purse.
These are not reasons to separate you from your daughter.
There has to be something else going on. "
"Like what?"
I started thinking out loud, trying to piece together Jessica's erratic behavior.
"Maybe things with Brad aren't going well, or what if she like—lost her job, or there's some other kind of personal crisis she doesn't want us to know about?
Could something have happened with Macy that she would try to hide from you?
Macy hasn't said anything bad about her mom.
I know she feels guilty sometimes but…" I let my words trail off, not really sure how to articulate what I was thinking.
Before he could answer, his phone rang. Lauren. We were making our way through the kitchen where we could enter the garage.
"Lauren," he answered, while walking. He put it on speaker immediately. "I can't talk right now. Felicity and I are heading over to see Macy. Something's seems off and Jessica won't let us talk to Macy, not really sure w—"
"Caden, stop. Don't go to Jessica's house." Lauren's voice was tight with urgency in a way I'd never heard before. "I need to tell you something, and you're not going to like it."
My blood ran cold. Lauren was always calm, always measured. If she sounded panicked, something was seriously wrong.
He jerked to a stop and coming up behind him I didn't have the chance to stop in time. We collided and his phone skated to the floor.
"Damn—sorry!" Scrambling for the phone, I tried to grab it and it flipped out of my hands again. What the hell?
Caden called out, "Lauren—hang on, I dropped the phone."
Out of breath, I finally had it in hand, and brought it up between us. Caden let out a little laugh and I followed suit. He grabbed the back of my neck, pulled me close and laid a kiss on my forehead. "Shit, I think I needed that," he said, laughing a bit.
Sighing, I leaned further into him, "me too."
"Okay, Lauren," his voice more measured now. "What's going on?"
"Are you sitting down?"
"No, but I'm sure we'll survive. Just lay it on us."
"Okay, well—don't say I didn't warn you. So, those financial irregularities we found?" I looked up at Caden, confused. He whispered to me "I'll explain in a minute."
"Go on."
Lauren said, "I took the information over to Jackson over in the Forensic Accounting team.
Gave him all the information and the file we put together.
He found some major irregularities. He brought Janice from Legal just to have her take a look.
I guess Janice found some major concerns and reached out to a contact she has at the DA's office.
"Shit. Really? What did they say?"
"Well, apparently with our current suspicions, there is a huge list of possible crimes. Larceny by False Pretenses, Identity Fraud, Forgery, and even some Computer-related crimes—that's just to name a few, Caden."