Chapter 23

Jonathan called the next day, just to let us know he still didn’t know anything. It was nice of him to call, but it didn’t keep me from feeling like we were in limbo, waiting to find out what happened.

For a full week Emily went ‘radio silent’, with no real news coming from anywhere, not even from Jonathan. It seemed likely the DA would decline to prosecute her for the death of her father, citing self-defense; but he was still considering the investigation, and hadn’t made a decision yet.

It seemed likely that her grandparents were going to get custody of her, but since they were the parents of her father, whom she had killed, Child Protective Services were still considering the option and had yet to make a decision.

While I knew what decision I wanted the DA to go with, thinking about her custody arrangement only upset me. If her grandparents did get custody she would be moving to Florida where they lived. Beyond that I had specific concerns with them. There was not only the fact that they had to harbor some kind of resentment towards Emily for the death of their son, these were people who raised a man who was capable of beating his wife to death.

Of course, the alternative was going into the foster system as a teenager. While my time in the system wasn’t terrible, it wasn’t a life I would wish on anyone. Plus, she would most likely end up moving around a lot.

But my real issue was that, regardless of what happened, it was clear she would be going away. The foster system would probably have her in one of the bigger cities, her grandparents lived in Florida, and then there was jail. Any way this would go, it meant I would be losing her.

I know many people would wonder what I was so upset about. I had my Zoe, Vicki and Tami in my life already and nothing had happened with Emily yet. It was something I had been thinking about. For some reason the girls were pushing hard to add people to our little group, and I was falling hard for those same people.

I had no way of proving it but my guess was it was somehow a byproduct of my genetics. Not that I had mentioned it to anyone yet, because how do you test for impulses? What I did know is my genetics were aggressive in trying to propagate themselves. Putting that together with the girls feeling a strong impulse to add new girls and me falling quickly for the same girls, it couldn’t be a coincidence.

Thursday rolled around. It was my birthday, or at least the day we had picked after the Greys had adopted me. I knew a party was planned, but wasn’t sure of the details. It wasn’t a surprise party, but it had been made clear that I was to stay out of the way until it was time for the party to start.

I was up early, and just home from my morning run when Emily finally called.

“Hey, Cas,” she said when I picked up.

“Emily! How are you? I’ve been worried.”

“I know. I’m ok, I guess. We got the news today that they aren’t going to try and throw me in jail, so that’s good. They also decided I am going to live with my grandparents.”

“At least the decision is made now. Moving to Florida isn’t as bad as being in limbo.”

“I guess. I don’t really want to go. I just got friends. And you’re here,” she said, sounding sad.

“I know, and just because you’re in Florida, doesn’t mean we can’t all still be friends. Three years and we’re off to college. I’m sure the girls are already plotting to get us all back together.”

“That’s a long time, but you’re right. I guess I also kind of don’t want to go with them. The way they look at me...” she said, leaving the sentence hanging.

“I was worried about that. How bad is it with them?”

“Pretty bad. I get the feeling they aren’t really getting much of a choice in taking me, since they are my only living relatives, but I can tell they don’t want to. They haven’t said anything, yet, but I can tell.”

“Were you close with them before all this?” I asked.

“Not really. I had only met them once or twice. They moved to Florida and gave Dad the farm when I was still a baby. Dad never wanted to go see them and they were never invited for family stuff. At least not that I can remember.”

I paused for a long time, trying to think of how to best say what else was on my mind.

“Emily, I’m sorry things ended up the way that they did. I...”

“No,” she said, interrupting me, “I know what you’re thinking. I know you threatened him to get him to stop hitting me and my mom. I’m glad you did it. These last months have been the happiest I can ever remember. Even my mom was starting to seem like a person again. You don’t know what it was like living in this house ... before. We were always scared. Scared we would set him off. We tip-toed through life. It isn’t a way to live.”