Page 97 of Truth

I nodded and took a deep breath. Everything was fine.

Justin shifted in his chair and took a drink of the beer in front of him. Everyone at the table had a drink except Stephan and I. “Have you guys ever been to Crazy Lewie’s before?”

“No. This is the first time.”

“How about you?” This time his question was directed solely at me.

I shook my head.

“I didn’t think I’d seen you around before. Cal here was telling us you and he grew up together.”

Justin’s continued scrutiny made me uneasy, but I tried to remember that this was a social get-together. We were all supposed to talk. “Yes.”

He smiled and leaned in as if confiding some sort of secret. “Do you have any dirt on Cal we should know about? Any skeletons in his closet?”

Jade punched him in the arm.

“Ow!”

Everyone at the table laughed, except me.

“Stop bothering Anna with your silly questions. You’re just mad about your birthday.”

The entire group, minus Stephan and me, snickered.

“You would be, too!”

Cal rolled his eyes. “Oh, stop whining. It’s not my fault your mom decided to drop by unannounced.” At that, the snickers turned into full-blown laughter.

Philip noticed our confusion. “Justin’s just a little sore because Cal threw him a big bash for his twenty-fifth birthday party last month that included some... female entertainment, and his mom showed up right as it was getting good.”

“Yeah. And she didn’t talk to me for a week after that. My own mother wouldn’t even take my calls.” Justin sank down in his chair.

Female entertainment?

My heart pounded in time with the words as they repeated over and over in my head. The palms of my hands began to sweat, and my breathing accelerated.

Suddenly there was a sharp tug on my arm, and a hand gripped the back of my neck. “Breathe, Brianna. Deep breath in. Now let it out. Again.” I did as he said, taking one breath at a time.

When I opened my eyes, Cal was staring right at me.

“Good girl.” Stephan’s words pulled me out of my trance, and I turned to face him. He ran a finger down the side of my face, making me forget about everyone around us.

“Hey, you all right?” Mandy broke into our world with her question.

Stephan didn’t take his eyes off me. “She’s fine.”

“I didn’t mean to make you—”

“He said she’s fine.” There was finality in Cal’s voice. Everyone at the table stopped talking.

“Well, it looks like we’re going to have to go fetch our own drinks.” Mandy placed a hand on Philip’s and Justin’s shoulders. “Come help a girl out.”

There was a brief exchange where Stephan told her we’d just take some water, and then they were gone.

“I’m so sorry, Anna. I wasn’t even thinking when the subject of Justin’s party came up.” Jade’s voice was full of regret.

By that point, I was resting my head on Stephan’s shoulder, and he was playing with my fingers as they lay in his lap.

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