Page 40 of Torn
My little sister leans over the princess-shaped cake with a big smile and blows out her seven candles. Mom’s dining room is filled with people—my aunts, uncles, cousins, and brothers, and a few little kids from Tesla’s class. It’s been six months since my father passed away, and this is the first I’ve seen most of the people in this room smile in a long time. Including myself.
Tessie starts to open her presents, with Kenzi sitting at her side, taking the discarded wrapping paper from her and shoving it in a big garbage bag, always the little neat freak. I wink at her across the room, and she waves at me.
“Tesla seems better,” I say to my mom when I bring some plates into the kitchen to help her clean up.
“She’s doing much better, but she still cries at night sometimes. She misses him a lot.”
“I know,” I agree softly. “We all do.”
I help her load the dishwasher. “We should be going soon. Sydni has a class in the morning, and I have to get Kenzi to kindergarten on time for once.”
“You two are babysitting again?” she asks with a slight emphasis on the “again.”
“Yeah, just for a few days.”
“It’s nice you and Sydni help out so much.” She wipes her hands on a dish towel and folds it neatly before putting it back on the counter.
“We don’t mind. She’s a good kid, like Tessie.”
“Toren…,” she starts, and then stops for a moment. “I’m going to ask you something, and I just want you to tell me the truth. I’m your mother, and I love you. I won’t judge you.”
I raise my eyebrows and take a step back. “Whoa, Mom. That sounds heavy.”
“Is she yours?”
I stare at her in shock, the smile fading from my face. “What?”
“Just answer me. Is that my granddaughter in there?”
“Shit, Mom. Is that what you think?”
“She looks like you…”
“I look like him. Everyone says we look like brothers. Even you said it when we were young. We’ve always looked alike.”
She nods. “Yes… that’s true.”
Her eyes bore into me, waiting.
“I can’t believe you’re asking me this after all these years, Mom. You really think I’d let someone else raise my own kid?”
“She’s with you all the time.”
“Because her family is never around. They’re all wrapped up in their own shit, being famous people. She can’t live out of a damn suitcase all the time. She needs some stability sometimes, and she likes staying with me. They’re our best friends. What’s the big deal?”
“It’s not a big deal, hon. Your devotion to her is sweet. You’re a good friend to them. I just wondered if there was more to it than you just doing your friends a favor.”
I shake my head, my hair falling into my face. I push it away with annoyance. She could have been mine, if I hadn’t introduced my best friend to the girl I was crazy about but too shy to ask out.
“No, Mom. She’s not mine. I’ve never slept with Ember.”
TOR
My fourth beer goes down too fast. I’m itching for another but I know if I keep drinking I won’t stop. I sure as hell don’t want to be drunk tonight. I’ve already proved I can’t control my mouth sober, so there’s no telling what I’ll say if I get wasted off my ass.
I’m doing a good job of pretending to have a conversation with this girl named Heather, but my eyes keep drifting back to Kenzi, who’s talking to Sailor on the other side of the property, but she also keeps looking over at me and quickly looking away when I catch her.
The wish she made after I found her penny in the grass earlier keeps echoing in my head.