Page 25 of Backfire
But did she? Because I wasn’t so sure. The way she was looking at me, it felt like she couldn’t see me. Or she didn’t think I was really here. When I was a kid, I’d hear her talking to someone. She’d say it was my dad.
I knew he was dead, but that didn’t stop me from asking if I could talk to him, too. I thought she was talking to his ghost or something. When I got older, I realized that she might’ve actually thought he was there.
“Are you okay?” I asked, placing my palm on her arm.
“Of course, dear.” She smiled and gave my hand a pat. “I’m perfectly fine.”
Somehow, I didn’t believe that. When was my mother ever fine? Certainly not when the infamoustheywere coming for us. It was kind of odd that she hadn’t mentioned them yet. She hadn’t tried to shove me in a closet either, which was a plus.
Could she really be better? Was this the blessing I’d been praying for, for years? Somehow, I couldn’t see it being that easy. People like her weren’t suddenly better one day. Paranoia had a way of hanging on.
My attention turned back up to the roof. The floor above had a balcony with an ornate wooden railing. I could see the tiny detailing on the ivy leaves from here. This place really was beautiful. Too bad the inhabitants were pricks. Even Angus—who was following behind us—had an aura of arrogance.
I tipped my head at him while speaking to Charmaine. “You never mentioned Angus before.”
“What’s that?” Her eyes widened with a little more alertness.
“He went to college with you and Dad, right?”
This time, it was Angus who cocked a brow.
“Oh… umm…”
My heart broke a little when Charmaine’s face screwed up. The confused lines that crinkled her expression as she searched her memories were familiar to me.
She nodded. “Yes, I think so.”
I wouldn’t call that a definitive answer—not that I was expecting one—but I might’ve questioned her further if Angus hadn’t stepped up.
“I think it’s time we go have a rest, sweetheart,” he said, then placed a kiss on the top of her head.
My eyes narrowed. I didn’t like him infringing on our time. “She’s fine.”
“No, she’s tired,” Angus insisted.
“I am a little tired,” Charmaine agreed.
Really? She wasn’t helping.
I sighed. “I’ll take her to lie down.”
Angus’s response was a firm head shake. “You know what the courts said.”
Actually, I didn’t. I wasn’t in court when the judgment was made, but according to Perry, Charmaine wasn’t allowed to be left alone with me. If they were so worried about her, then why give me back to her in the first place?
“Fine,” I grumbled, knowing that there was no point in arguing.
I was the minor, legally under his control until I was nineteen. Stupid rules. Why couldn’t I live in a state where adulthood came at eighteen? Then I’d only have to wait a month.
“You should enjoy your last day of vacation,” Angus said while leadingmy motheraway. “Your tutor will be here tomorrow.”
Tutor? “I know public schools might not be up to your standards, but that doesn’t mean…”
“You’re not going to school.”
What?“Why not?”
He couldn’t just pull me out of school. It was kind of a requirement.
