Flare (29 page)

“What bothered you the most?” Hugo asked.

Brooke shrugged and studied her fingernails, stroking over the chipped polish. Hugo vowed to help her paint her nails later that evening. Maybe she’d open up even more.

“I think what really made me cry was that she said you were going to die because of what you did.” Her smile was sad and worried.

“That’s not going to happen, Olive,” Kevin said, going around the table to pull her into his chest. “It’s just not. We’re faithful to each other and both of us have a clean bill of health from the doctor. We’ll keep you up-to-date on that if knowing would set your mind at ease. My last tests were a month ago. When were yours, Hugo?”

“I got results three weeks ago. Everything’s good.”

Brooke sighed in relief. “Okay.”

“You have more reason to worry about losing a parent than most kids,” Hugo said. “I remember freaking out about that too. I used to worry anytime my mom went on a long trip or if she was late getting home from work. Even when she went to the doctor. Eventually, I realized she was sticking around. I think it’s awful Felicity picked that of all things to bug you about. That’s cruel. She knew already in November where your soft underbelly was and she dug in. Much harder this time. You need some armor. Some chain mail, maybe,” Hugo joked.

“A sword like they sell at the Renaissance Festival,” Brooke countered.

“Let’s not go that far,” Kevin said.

They spent the rest of the time before Finn arrived home talking about how Brooke could prepare herself for Felicity’s cruelty as well as what Brooke could actually do or say in response, even practicing a few role-plays. Both Kevin and Hugo felt quite naïve about this, despite Hugo’s experience with being bullied in high school. He’d always used humor to deflect comments, but none of his bullies were ever this spiteful. They vowed to talk to Lori about this as well and to make an appointment for Brooke to see her as soon as possible.

After Brooke started studying, Kevin and Hugo logged on to a few websites to get some advice, and by the next morning, Brooke felt prepared and confident that she could face Felicity and the other kids in school again.

Felicity wasn’t in school. Well, she was, but she was serving in-school suspension. Everyone was talking about it and talking about what Felicity had said to Brooke. The Purity Club had been disbanded too, because it was a secret society, which went against school policy.

Brooke was exhausted when she got home, but she’d made it through the day. The second day was better, because people had moved on to new gossip. Even when Felicity rejoined everyone in classes the following Monday, she did so more subdued. She no longer bothered Brooke, avoiding her for the most part.

Until she didn’t.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Bullies, Bullies Everywhere

“A
NDREW
AND
Sarah are hosting game night this month,” Kevin told Hugo just after getting off the phone with Andrew. “Sarah was also wondering if she could have your roasted-red-pepper hummus recipe.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure,” Hugo said. He dug through his recipe box and pulled out a card. “You can e-mail it to her, if you want.”

“Thanks.”

“About game night,” Hugo said as he leaned up against the kitchen counter. “It’s not going to work for me to take off. I said I’d work the ticket counter at the theatre that night. They had trouble finding someone.”

“Oh. Okay. I’ll just go with the kids.”

Hugo smiled and nodded. “Sounds good. Anyway, I’ve got a lot of errands to run today. I’m never gonna find all the props we need in time. Busy, busy.”

“Drive safe,” Kevin said after he kissed Hugo good-bye. There was always a kiss good-bye.

O
N
A
cold day in January, Finn’s school had a Dads and Doughnuts breakfast, so Hugo and Kevin drove him to school and sat in the lunchroom, munching on powdered-sugar and glazed doughnuts. The room was packed, and they talked to people at their table before Finn tugged on Kevin’s sleeve, encouraging him and Hugo to follow so Finn could talk to some friends he saw across the expansive room.

They mingled, allowing Finn to introduce them, where he proudly called them “Dad and Papa.” Kevin smiled and shook hands with other fathers and some of the teachers. He noticed Mrs. Swanson snubbed Hugo once again. It was ridiculous, but he wasn’t about to get into it during a morning social event.

As Kevin drove Hugo back home, he noticed how quiet he was. “Talk to me,” Kevin said, hoping to get inside Hugo’s thoughts.

Hugo shook his head, looking out the window. He squinted, protecting his eyes from the harsh glare that bounced off the snow and then pulled a pair of sunglasses from the glove box. He slipped them over his eyes so they were obscured from Kevin’s view.

“I’m not so sure we fit here,” Hugo finally said.

“What do you mean?”

Hugo looked at Kevin. “I miss the city.”

“We’re in a first-ring suburb. Isn’t that close enough? You can slip into Minneapolis easily enough,” Kevin said as he concentrated on not sliding into the car in front of him on the icy roads.

“It’s not that. It’s the culture here. Parents don’t let their kids explore or experiment. They’re happy to conform. Everyone talks about their latest project to impress others. It’s like all the popular kids from high school got together and decided to live together. Minnesota nice on steroids. It’s cliquey.”

“That’s unfair. It’s cliquey everywhere you go. That’s the nature of communities, isn’t it?”

Hugo shrugged, not committing to an answer. He looked back out the passenger window for a long time, an uncomfortable silence slipping into the car.

“Come on, Hugo. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking…. I don’t know what I’m thinking, but I have a bad feeling. Going to something like that makes me feel on edge, like I have to be on guard all the time. That’s probably how Brooke feels every day at school. It feels like shit.”

“Hmm,” Kevin said, carefully considering Hugo’s words. “I can see what you mean. I guess I don’t feel it, or even see it quite like you do, though.”

“That’s because you know these people. You’re accepted here. They know your face and your story… your history. You’re Finn and Brooke’s legitimate dad. I’m just some guy along for the ride,” Hugo said, gesturing with both hands at the car and his position in the passenger seat.

“We can change that, you know,” Kevin said with a soft voice.

“How?” Hugo sounded pissy.

“You could adopt the kids. We’ve talked about this.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think that’ll change a thing here.”

“Are you saying you’ve decided to not adopt them?”

“No. No. That’s not what I mean,” Hugo said, pulling his sunglasses off and looking at Kevin. “I want to adopt them. I really do, but I don’t think that’ll change how people in this suburb look at us when we go to things like Dads and Doughnuts. I’m always going to be this substandard dad in their eyes, the guy who stole Erin’s husband away.”

“What are you talking about?” Kevin asked.

Hugo shook his head, refusing to look at Kevin again, who kept glancing over as often as traffic allowed.

“Just things I hear people say,” Hugo mumbled, obviously not wanting to talk about this, but Kevin pushed him, asking what sorts of things were said and where. “Grocery store. When I take the kids to get their hair cut. Certain shops. And then the looks.”

“People are actually saying stuff?”

“Mhm. Erin knew a lot of people, I guess. I’ve never seen these people on her Facebook group or even on her friend list, but she was known out and about.”

“She socialized quite a lot and took classes, was president of the PTA and stuff like that. I know she used to take the kids on a ton of playdates, met with mommy groups. All that sort of stuff.”

“I know,” Hugo said. “Anyway, the people I run into often recognize the kids, and then some of them open their mouths. Some don’t say a word, but their body language speaks volumes. I’m the desperate actor who either stole you from Erin or I moved in the second she was dead. No matter the story, I sound like an inconsiderate ass who’s trying to make a buck. It got worse after the magazine articles. I was a freeloader then, despite being in a movie. I just ignore it and do everything in my power to make sure the kids don’t hear it if they’re with me, moving to the next aisle or avoiding certain stores.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

Hugo shrugged. “I figured it would blow over.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“A while.”

They were silent the rest of the way home. Kevin didn’t have a clue what to say.

W
HEN
K
EVIN
got home from work at the end of the day, Hugo was gone, working at the theater. He’d left Brooke in charge, figuring she could manage for the ninety minutes she and Finn were home alone, and it seemed he was right. They’d been leaving the kids home in little bursts, running quick errands to see if Brooke felt comfortable watching her brother and also to see if they could manage to get along without any measurable sibling rivalry issues between them, knowing they could go to the neighbors if they needed help. So far so good, and even after that long, things were going smoothly. Finn was working on homework at the dining room table, and Brooke was playing with her phone since her own homework was already done.

Kevin started supper, deciding on macaroni and cheese out of a box. The kids liked it, and it was easy. He boiled a few hotdogs to go with it and pulled buns out of the fridge so they’d warm up by the time the meat was cooked. When supper was nearly ready, he told the kids to wash up and set the table. Finn quickly joined him at the table and started setting out plates. Brooke, however, was absent.

“Brooke? Supper’s ready. Come get it before it gets cold.”

“Not really. It’s not that hard.” Kevin heard Brooke’s voice, soft and muted in her room as he walked up the stairs and slowly opened her door after knocking. “I got to go. Bye. I love you.”

“Who was that? I didn’t hear the phone ring.”

“It was Grandma. I had my phone on vibrate.”

“Grandma Clarke?” Brooke nodded. “Supper’s ready.”

Kevin frowned as he followed Brooke back downstairs. It was unusual for Erin’s mom to call Brooke on her phone. Not just unusual, but unheard of. She’d always called the house phone or Kevin’s cell phone to talk to the kids in the past.

“Does Grandma call you on your phone often?” Kevin asked after he sat down at the table and pulled his napkin to his lap.

“Yeah. Since we visited,” Brooke said before taking a big bite of orange noodles. “She texts now too.”

As Kevin dished up, he tried to lower the panic he felt rising in his belly. Why was Tasha texting Brooke now? What was she saying? What if she was saying derogatory things to Brooke about Kevin and Hugo or planting seeds of doubt, trying to do to Brooke what she hadn’t been able to do to Finn?

After Brooke was in bed, Kevin found her phone downstairs on the kitchen counter, charging. He scrolled through the texts and saw mostly innocuous stuff from Tasha, nothing damning. He still didn’t like it.

Then he saw a number that had sent dozens of texts. He clicked on it and saw awful, disgusting words in black and white. Scrolling through the messages, he had a pretty good idea where they came from. Felicity. It seemed she’d stopped the bullying on school premises and moved it to the cyber world.

The doorknob rattled, and Hugo walked in, looking exhausted from rehearsal.

“What’s wrong?” Hugo asked. Kevin just held up Brooke’s phone, passing it over as soon as Hugo was within arm’s reach. Hugo took a few minutes scanning the messages.

“What the fuck? Are you kidding me? That little shit is still bugging her?”

“Looks that way.”

“I fucking hate this town. I’m going to bed.”

Kevin watched, stunned, as Hugo turned around and went upstairs without another word. After taking Lulu out, making sure all the doors were locked, and turning off the lights, he joined Hugo, who was already fast asleep.

The next morning, Hugo was still sleeping soundly. Kevin talked to Brooke about Felicity’s texts before Finn came downstairs for breakfast.

“Why were you snooping in my phone?” Her voice was cutting and her face disgusted as if Kevin had violated her trust. Maybe he had in a way, but not really.

“It’s my phone. I pay for it, and I’m your dad.”

“That’s not cool, Dad!”

Kevin shook his head, wishing there were instructions on how to handle this written on the walls so he’d know what to do next.

“You’re getting awful messages sent to your phone. What’s going on?”

“Besides you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong?” She raised a cocky brow and Kevin felt his anger rise.

“I’ll stick my nose wherever I please while you’re living in my house. This isn’t negotiable. You don’t
need
a phone. You
don’t
. I sure as hell didn’t have one at your age. If you want your privacy, I can assure that by removing the temptation, taking your phone, your iPod, and your computer away. Is that what you want?”

“No,” she said with a pout.

“Then I’m going to look, but I’m doing it to make sure you’re safe. And obviously you aren’t. How long has this been going on?”

Brooke refused to answer and looked down at her shoes instead.

“Come on. How can I help?” Kevin asked in a much gentler tone.

“You can’t. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

“I can. Is it only text messages she’s sending you?”

Brooke shook her head, muttering, “E-mail.”

“Is she doing anything at all in school anymore?”

“Nope.”

“Have you responded to her?”

“No.”

“What does she say in her e-mails?” Kevin had visions of awful things based on what Felicity had already said to Brooke.

“She sends me links to things.”

Shit!
Somehow he’d been able to keep that word a thought. “Do you go to them? Please tell me you aren’t clicking through?” Kevin could feel the stress in his shoulders and neck.