Sleeves (30 page)

It had to be overwhelming to him.

“Well, say something? Tell me what you’re thinking,” his mom began.

“I’m not thinking anything. I’m only glad we got you out of there.”

“And now what? You drop me off at an old folk’s retirement center and you drive off into the sunset? Is that the plan?” Marie teased, her tone light and playful.

“I don’t know what the fucking plan is, okay? Hadn’t thought that far—I only knew you couldn’t stay there, and Peanut’s waiting for me to ge—”

“Peanut? Is that what you call my grandson?”

Kel groaned softly. Casey glanced at him in the rear-view mirror. He was griping the back of his neck and looking utterly lost.

“Yeah—Robbie’s a name we’re uncomfortable with, so for now, he’s Peanut,” Casey supplied, hoping it would ease the tension a little.

“Oh, I . . . Yeah, I . . . Sorry, I forgot about that young man. I heard about what happened to him. He was a good kid.” Marie gave him a look of understanding and sympathy.

“I don’t wanna talk about him . . .
ever
,” Kel said, driving a wedge in between them already.

“That’s fine. I don’t like talking about your father either, but I suppose I’ll have to now that we’re together.” Marie paused and cleared her throat.

Casey’s eyes went back to the road. They’d figure this out. They’d find a way to reconnect. She had faith in both of them.

“I don’t know if I wanna know about him.” Kel shifted, making a squeaking noise on the leather seat.

“That’s fine; if you change your mind, let me know. It’s not a fun story to listen to, but I get it if you want to know how he died at least.”

Kel made a quick movement in the back. Casey’s attention was on the mirror once more.

He was glaring at his mother. “Died? When did that happen?”

“Years ago. You were only about five-years-old, looked more like you were about ten, and I tried to get him to help us escape so we could get you out of there. He refused. He even tried to . . .” Marie stopped speaking, and the car went deathly silent for a lengthy pause.

“What—tell me!” he barked.

“He tried to stop me. Tried to alert the people holding us. He thought it wasn’t safe for us to leave and that I’d get you killed. So I had to do something about it. I didn’t want to.” Marie was crying.

“Are you fucking kidding me? You killed my father?” His voice was hoarse and frightening with how violent it sounded.

Marie backed up against the door. “He attacked me; I didn’t have a choice. If I didn’t get you out of there, I knew it was only a matter of time before they killed you.”

“Yeah, and it worked great.” He held up his wrists and shook them in her face. “Shackled for years,
Mom
.”

“I know I didn’t get far before they caught us, but I made sure to give ‘em hell every day you were there so they’d have to deal with me, rather than focus on you. They would’ve . . . It would’ve been worse if I hadn’t tried to protect you somehow. Your dad didn’t get that—he’d given up a long time ago.”

He chuffed. “How the hell could it’ve possibly been worse. Pffft!” He gripped the back of the headrest on the passenger’s seat. “Let me out, Casey. Stop the fucking car.”

“What?
No
!” Casey’s hands slipped on the wheel and the car swerved a little as Kel opened his back door.

She stomped on the breaks, and his mother clutched at his shirt.

“No! Don’t go—I’m sorry. I’ll leave. You stay!” Marie’s voice was piercing and apparently so were her fingers, because he cried out like he was in pain.

“Don’t fucking touch me, woman!” he roared, then pushed her hands off him.

“I’m sorry . . . I’m so sorry,” Marie whimpered.

“I don’t care! You think that makes this all okay?” His spittle was flying now.

Casey pulled over on the road’s shoulder and ran around the car, then flew at Kel, pulling him out and straight into a bear hug. “It’s okay . . . Shhhh, my sweet man. Just listen to me.”

“No! You heard that woman!” He shoved her off him and pointed at his mom, cowering in the car. “She killed my dad, and I don’t even remember him. That’s all she has to tell me?
Oh, gee, Kelly, sorry, but your dad was a useless fartbag so I offed him for your benefit
. Really? That’s all I get? Not even a touching father and son moment or start it off with a nice memory first?” His chin was drenched in his tears. He rammed the back of his hand across them, knocking them loose, his eyes torrents of fiery emotions, engulfing him.

“I know . . . It’s hard to understand, but think about it, sweetie—she remained behind after you left. She’s been there far longer than you have.”

“Yeah, but she fucking volunteered for that shit—I didn’t!” His hands flew up in the air.

Casey opened the back door wider, peeking inside. “Marie, can you drive? I’ll stay in back with him.”

Marie nodded and her eyes went wide. “If you tell me where to go, I think I can manage it. I mean, I haven’t driven in years, but I think I can remember how.”

“It should be fine.”

Marie got out, slumped into the driver’s seat and steadied her hands on the wheel.

“Back in the car, my favorite asshole. I’ll hold you. If you don’t want to speak to your mom, you don’t have to. We got her out, and she can figure out what to do on her own if you want. Maybe we can trade her for Peanut? I’m sure she’d have a ton of information to give the authorities.” Casey bit her lip and offered a weak smile.

He exhaled, his shoulders drooped and he motioned for her to get back in the car.

“You’re not going to run the minute my butt cheeks hit the seat, right?” she checked with him.

“No—I’m not going anywhere without you.” He stared at her lips. “
You
I can’t live without. She’s a whole different story.”

Casey got in, reached her hand out for him, and the second he took it and joined her, she released a breath she’d been holding.

He curled into her side. She dropped her chin on top of his head and gave Marie some brief instructions on where to drive.

It was nerve racking, letting a woman drive that had been incarcerated for who knew how long, but there were few options. Kel was falling apart right before Casey’s eyes, and she had to help him somehow. They also had to keep moving so they wouldn’t get caught if the people from the facility were after them.

For the next thirty minutes no one said a word. Casey ran her fingers through Kel’s hair, kissed his hands and did anything she could to keep him distracted from the woman driving.

“Hey, I just realized, you’re probably starving,” Casey said to his mother, her own stomach rumbling.

Marie stiffened and remained silent.

“Let’s stop up here.” Casey pointed at a fast food burger place.

Kel’s bottom lip jutted out.

“She’s hungry, and so am I,” she whispered in his ear and kissed his cheek.

“’Kay, but I’m not eating.”

He was adorable when he pouted, and she would’ve enjoyed teasing him about it, only she could tell it was distressing his mother and he was hurting real bad. Marie was so rigid they could tip her all the way over by shoving her sideways. And Kel was about ready to explode and maybe pass out, he was so upset.

They pulled into the parking lot, and no one moved.

“I’m getting a chocolate shake, how about you, Marie? Wanna shake?” she asked the older woman with them.

“I . . . We’ll see . . .” Marie exited the car and drifted up to the door like she was a ghost.

She entered before Kel and Casey could reach her.

“How about you order for us, and I’ll get your mom settled. Just get me a fat juicy burger—any kind—and a chocolate shake.” She kissed him then went after his mom.

He didn’t have time to argue, but she kind of doubted he would anyway. He was in his own crumbling world.

“Do you already know what you want?” she asked Marie.

“Um . . . No, not really.” The woman stared at the menu, dazed.

Casey pointed at a particularly tasty burger that was simple and not much to it. “That’s a good one. I suggest you get it. Everyone likes that one.”

Marie nodded.

Casey grabbed Kel, told him what to get his mother then ripped Marie away from him before things got overly awkward again.

She found a corner table away from the window and smiled as she sat.

“You know, he was pretty gruff when I first met him. I don’t think he wants to like you because then he feels too much,” Casey started.

His mother set her palms on the table. “It’s fine. He’s not required to even acknowledge me. As far as he knew, I didn’t even exist.”

“It’s not like that. He’s been talking about you a lot the last few days, aching inside over knowing you were trapped inside that hideous place.” Casey gripped her hand and squeezed it. “He struggles with adjusting to new things in his life, but you’ll see . . . Once he opens up to you, just try and keep him from making you feel like you’re a goddess. It’s one of his gifts I adore.”

His mother blinked and went mute.

“It’s all going to work out.” Casey released her hand.

Kel approached them a few minutes later with their tray of food. He set it down, then dragged his chair over to Casey’s side.

He curled over into her as if needing protection. His head rested on her shoulder, and he grabbed her hand, then set their entwined fingers in her lap.

Casey ate her burger one-handed and smiled at Marie from time to time. The woman looked haggard and worn out.

Her black hair was disheveled and tangled in knots, a few stray gray hairs running through it, but they were barely noticeable. It didn’t appear she aged at a quickened rate like Kel, but rather almost stopped aging altogether because physically she looked near the same age as he did, like she was in her thirties. No wrinkles really to speak of, youthful looking skin. She was sickly thin though, a huge contradiction to the sheer strength Casey had observed her use.

It was stress that made her look beaten down. If not for the way she’d been mistreated for years, she would be a stunning woman to look at.

It was no wonder Kel was so magnificent looking.

Casey wanted to cry for this woman—her heart broke as she thought about all the years she would never get back. All the time she lost being tethered like a wild animal inside a cage and experimented on like she had no feelings and didn’t matter at all.

It was deflating since in the short amount of time Casey’d known her, this woman was a powerhouse.

But Kel was obviously the reason she had kept going for as long as she had, and if he hated her, well, she might simply cease to exist.

Casey took a drink of her shake and her stomach churned. She cleared her throat and said, “You know—if you two never speak to each other again, there’s something I want you both to hear since I’ve had a chance to get to know both of you.”

Kel snorted.

“Okay, I admit, I haven’t known Marie for long, but what I’ve seen so far, I really admire and enjoy.” Marie’s eyes lit up a teensy bit, so Casey kept going. “This man is the most incredible person ever.” She picked up their clasped hand and kissed the back of it. “He’s affectionate, genuine and generous with his praise of me, and he’s honest right down to the core. If he likes something, I’m told. If he doesn’t like it, well, I hear about that, too, and he’s got the best sense of humor ever. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier, and that’s even after being captured and injected with all sorts of unnameable stuff.”

Marie gulped and left her food untouched.

Casey turned her eyes on Kel. “The first thing your mom did when she saw me was hug me. She didn’t even know who I was, but she sensed I was a good person there to help her. She didn’t even ask me to get her out of her restraints—they kept her chained to the wall like a dog to a doghouse.” Her breath hitched at the memory. “She gave me a look that asked right away about you. That was all she cared about. I can tell you right now, your mother loves you more than any mother ever could.”

Casey turned back to Marie who was sobbing.

“Marie—my parents ignored me. They stood by and acted like I wasn’t sick when I was in tremendous amounts of pain, and I’ll never be able to have children because of them. They never would’ve killed anyone to protect me, because they’d rather I was dead. I don’t think anyone could ever say that about you and your Kelly.”

Kel broke down at her side, gripping her into a bone crushing hug. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me. I’m not the one bleeding inside over this.” She gripped his chin and turned him to his mother. “Tell her what you’re thinking. Not the animosity you have and frustration over your upbringing, because we all know she did the best she could under the shitty circumstances she was under.”

“I . . . I didn’t mean to . . . I was shocked is all—and I don’t hate you. Not. At. All.” He turned to his mother, gulped and his eyes watered. “I think I was confused. My head was screaming at me that I loved you, but it didn’t make sense, considering I don’t really know you, so I went nuts.”