32. Cale
cale
Iease the truck into Melanie’s driveway, stopping right behind her car. Every window is lit up brightly, but neither Oakley nor I moves as I cut the engine, a deep silence falling over us.
I look at him between the front seats. The pale interior light casts shadows over his face, but there’s no hiding the vacancy in his stare as he looks out the window. I’m not sure he even knows where we are, his eyes drooping and the corners of his mouth tugging down.
“Killer?”
He jumps at the sound of my voice, his head snapping in my direction. “Y-yeah?”
My smile is reassuring. “We’re home, Oak.” I tip my head toward the house. “You ready to go inside?”
He blinks, no real awareness in his eyes. His skin is pale, his hands shaking where they’re resting in his lap. He looks a lot younger than usual, and my heart thumps in my chest at everything that could’ve gone wrong today—how close we came to losing him.
“We’re home?” he breathes, his voice barely stirring the air.
“Yeah.” I frown, wondering if I should get out and pick him up. I was able to get him away from there fairly easily, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he is in shock or something—there was no hiding what the noises in the cabin were.
I’m still waiting for Levi to call with the details of everything that went down after I got Oakley out. There’s no way it ended happily, especially not for Daniels. He’s either in handcuffs or—
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything,” I tell him sincerely. “I’ll give you as much honesty as I can.”
Something about my answer makes his mouth twitch upward. “Unless you have to check with Mom first, right?”
I chuckle. “You got it, Killer. Out of all of us, she’s the boss.”
Oakley’s smile fades away, his eyes locking on mine, more gray than blue.
“Why’d he do it?” His voice cracks, but he doesn’t hide the emotion filtering across his face.
“He’s…he’s my dad. He looked like him, and he talked like him, but—” He bites down on his lip to stop it from trembling. “That wasn’t him today.”
I slick my tongue over the front of my teeth, mind whirling as I try to figure out the best way to handle this.
I don’t want to step on Melanie’s toes, but the need to help Oakley is a visceral one.
The last thing I want is for him to ever feel like what happened today lies on his shoulders, or that there might have been something he could have done differently.
The die was cast the moment his father decided the only way out was to take Oakley.
No one could have changed that, including the kid himself.
“People wear masks on Halloween, yeah?” I ask quietly. He throws me a confused look, even as he gives a short nod. I blow out a breath. “For one night, everyone dresses up and pretends to be someone else. A monster. A book character. Someone from a game—”
“A superhero,” he pipes in. “I was the Hulk last year. Mom painted my face green, so I didn’t wear a mask.”
There’s a question underneath his words, and I shake my head with a smile. “It doesn’t have to be an actual mask,” I explain, before adding, “I remember that. I opened the door, and you smashed your fists together, saying—”
“Don’t make me angry. You won’t like me when I’m angry.
” Oakley’s voice joins in with mine, deep and roughened with an affected growl.
I laugh as a genuine smile brightens his face, temporarily chasing away the shadows his father left in his eyes.
“You gave me a whole bowl of candy,” he crows right before he scowls. “Mom made me share it with Nell.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You would have anyway.”
He lifts a shoulder, not denying it. “What’s Halloween got to do with anything?”
I turn more fully to face him to save my neck, shoulder pressed into the back of my seat.
“Some people wear masks all the time, not just on Halloween, but they aren’t pretending to be someone else.
It’s an…invisible mask, I guess. They pretend to be the person everyone thinks they are.
” His brows knit together, the frown deepening as I add, “No one knows about the mask on, but sometimes, it slips down, or it’s yanked away.
When that happens, you see the real person underneath, and they aren’t who you thought they were. ”
“How do you trust anyone?” he demands. “How do you know everyone doesn’t have a mask?”
I eye him thoughtfully. “You don’t,” I acknowledge. “Do you think your mom is wearing a mask?” Oakley doesn’t blink as he shakes his head. “I don’t either. She doesn’t need to, does she? She’s awesome the way she is.”
“You think my dad was wearing one. A mask, I mean.” He picks at the seam of his pants. “My whole life?”
My shoulders lift with my sigh. “I can’t say, Killer. I didn’t know him that well, but it’s possible. The more people practice lying, the better they get at it. Sometimes they even start believing their own lies.”
“Mom sucks at lying,” he says absent-mindedly, looking toward the house. I look over, watching the curtains flicker in the front room, right before my phone buzzes quickly in my pocket. “She never looks you in the eye when she’s lying.”
“Oh, yeah?” I say with interest. “What do you do when you lie?”
His mouth opens before he freezes, narrowed eyes sliding my way. “I’m not telling you that.”
I chuckle. “You’re quick, but I’ll figure you out.” I lift my brows, holding his stare. “You ready to go in now?”
He only hesitates a beat before giving me a firm nod. “I’m ready.”
We get out and head up the front walk, not surprised when the door opens before we climb the first step. Melanie steps out, her eyes watering as she rushes to Oakley, yanking him into her arms.
“Mom—” His voice cracks as he hugs her back, burying his face in her shoulder.
“It’s okay,” she tells him, her own voice choked. “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay. You’re home now, baby. You’re safe.”
“I didn’t want to go with him,” he tells her. “I didn’t want to break my promise. I’m sorry, Mom.”
“No, bug.” She pulls back, cupping his face in her hands, swiping her fingers across his cheeks where tears have escaped his eyes. “You don’t need to be sorry.” She smiles, but it doesn’t quite hide the way her mouth trembles. “Come on. I bet you’re hungry.”
“Cale said you had spaghetti. And hot chocolate.”
Melanie meets my eyes over his shoulders, her expression soft and warm. “Of course I do,” she murmurs. “And you know what? Bettie is here, and Jamie gave her some lemon bars for you.”
“Cale’s mom?” Oakley asks as I blink in surprise. “Awesome. She’s the best. And so is Jamie.” He grabs Melanie’s arm, surging past her into the house, tugging her along behind him.
But then my mother is there, and something melts in my chest when her eyes land on Oakley, a soft noise escaping. “Well, lookie here.” She breathes. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”
He pauses, scrunching his nose up. “I don’t know what that means.”
“It means,” she says, opening her arms, “that I’m so very glad to see you home and safe.” Oakley doesn’t hesitate, letting go of Melanie long enough to accept the tight squeeze she gives him.
“I’m glad you’re here, Miss Bettie,” he tells her earnestly. “I knew Cale would find me, but I was worried about my mom being alone.”
Mom’s eyes glitter as she rests her chin on top of his head. “Oh, you’re a special one, young man.” Her stare lands on me with meaning. I nod, acknowledging it. She twists with him in her arms, gently pushing him toward Melanie. “Off you go now. Don’t want that spaghetti to get cold.”
Oakley doesn’t need to be told twice, scampering into the kitchen, Melanie following after him, telling him to slow down. Once they’re gone, Mom steps toward me, her hands out as she starts patting me down.
“Mom,” I protest, gently batting her away. “I’m fine.”
“You are,” she agrees, “but it’s my prerogative to worry. You know how many years I waited by the phone, waiting for a call to tell me my son wasn’t coming home?”
It’s not something we talk about often, but her words hit me hard. “Mom—”
“I don’t want you to ever feel like you made the wrong choices in your life.
” She cuts me off, her eyes gleaming like hardened crystals.
“You lived your life to the fullest, and you were always true to yourself, even if it isn’t the path I would have chosen for my son.
But I’ve been worried for you for a long time now, Cale. ”
“Worried?” I ask, my eyebrows lifting high.
“Yes, worried.” She huffs, planting her hands on her hips. “You think it’s normal to go through life, not building meaningful relationships with anyone?”
“I have meaningful relationships,” I protest. “Garth and—”
“Do not say Jordan. That boy has more rocks in his head than anything else.”
“Well, that’s not nice.” I choke back a laugh. “I was going to say Paulie, anyway.”
“I’ll be nice when he proves me wrong.” She gives me a long look. “Your father is with Jaz and Lanie. I’m going to call him to come pick me up.” She goes up on her toes and presses a kiss to my cheek. “I’m glad you found Melanie and Oakley.”
“I didn’t think Melanie was missing,” I say dryly.
She gives me an unimpressed look. “You know that’s not what I mean.”
“They’ve been living next door for years, Mom.”
She shakes her head, pressing her lips to my cheek in a brief kiss. Mom doesn’t pull back straight away, telling me, “They were next door, but that doesn’t mean you saw them, hm?” She pulls back, giving me a long look. “But you do now.”
My throat feels too tight when I swallow, my eyes drifting toward the open door where I can hear the faint voices of Melanie and Oakley talking.
“Yeah, Mom,” I tell her roughly. “I see them.”