support and help in any way I can,” Mom says. “Especially now that girl is gone.”
My head snaps up in shock. My eyes narrow as I stare at my mother. “What did you just say?”
“That poor girl is gone, isn’t she?” She says it more like a statement instead of a question.
“You were eavesdropping.” Liam scoffs, rolling his eyes.
“Well, yes,” she admits, waving a hand in the air like she’s conducting a symphony. “But beside all that, I saw it in her eyes last night, when we had our little…talk.”
“What?” Liam and I explode. “You saw her?” Liam demands.
“You talked to Mia, last night?” I question, my voice so low, everyone turns to look at me. Mom’s eyes widen, then she smooths her face into an impassive mask, and I know she’s ready to justify something. What would she want to justify? Fear and anger make my heart pound as I stare at my mother, green clashing on green, a sea of deceit between us.
“Yes, I talked to her.”
“What about?” Liam rushes to ask. “What did you talk about? Did she say anything to you?”
Mom doesn’t look at Liam as she answers, holding my gaze instead. “We talked about the past, the present and possible futures,” she says. Cole and Liam glances at me, but their faces, like mine, are smoothed into impassivity, but I know both of them can hear what she isn’t saying.
“Possible futures?” Liam starts, taking a step closer to our mother, his eyes hard and narrowed. “What exactly does that mean in Courtney Mason-Fitzgerald speak, huh?”
“Liam…” Mom starts, but Liam cuts her off.
“Come on, Mom,” he says. “You never liked her from the moment she talked back to you. Even before you knew whose child she was, you hated the fact that you couldn’t control her like all these little bitches, desperate for J and mine’s attention.”
“Now that’s enough!” Mom snaps. “I know you’re concerned about her, but there’s no need to be so rude to me. Where is the respect?”
“We would respect you a lot more if we knew you aren’t the one who made Mia leave,” I start, my voice so low, everyone turns to look at me. Mom stands up straight, as if she’s readying herself. “What did you say to her?”
“I didn’t lie to her. I told her the truth, the whole truth, which was ugly for the most part.”
“The truth, huh?” Liam scoffs.
“Yes,” she says, her chin raised in defiance. “I helped shed light on some dark shadows she didn’t know existed.”
“Oh, you mean like how you interfered with her inner family dynamics, robbing her of the one thing she’ll never get back now; time with the woman who raised her? Do you mean that kind of light on shadows?” Liam says sarcastically.
“For the record, I did apologize for that and how I handled everything with her in the beginning,” she says, looking away. “I mean, I don’t hate the poor girl, how could anyone hate her?”
“So why would you do that? What kind of person are you?”
“I was hurt and angry, okay?” Mom murmurs. “How do you think I felt when I found out that your father was engaged to be married and that he moved that woman and her entire family into my house?”
“Yeah, so I guess the best course of action for you was to decimate a teenager,” I fire back. “Life must have sucked for you.”
Mom stares at me, then she glances down at her shoes like she’s nervous, making Liam stare at her with a frown.
“Listen, I’m not proud of what I did. The other night at the police station I finally saw how hurt the poor girl was. I mean, she had just found out that everyone in her life was lying to her in one capacity or the other and trust me, it’s an awful feeling to have.”
“So, you what Mom? You felt bad, is that it?” Liam scoffs.
“As a matter of fact, that’s what it is. I felt bad. So, I apologized for everything.”
Felt bad? The woman has never felt anything for anyone is such a long time that I hardly think she even knows what human emotions are.
“Are we just supposed to take your word for it, then? I mean, she isn’t here to defend herself against your lies,” I say, watching her, waiting for her next move.
“Julian, you’re perceptive than most. I think you already know that I’m not lying.”
That might be so, but I still can’t shake this weird sensation