Chapter 46

After breakfast was over with, Claira went upstairs to shower while Brooklynn cleaned up the mess, doing the dishes with Glenn's help. Randy and Mark were discussing this plan while Randy tried to get his nostrils to stop burning. It was no surprise when Claira came downstairs, announcing she had plans at 3 to go to a movie with Seth. Brooklynn promptly handed over the $50 and watched her daughter fly out the door since Seth had pulled up in his truck. She stood in the doorway, waving at him and saw his sheepish wave in return before peeling out of there like his backside was on fire.

It was just after 2 now, so Brooklynn went upstairs to quickly change, made sure her ruby studs were tightened a little and decided on a pair of blue jean shorts and a magenta top. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun to keep it out of her face and just the barest hint of makeup was applied. Slipping her brown sandals on, she walked downstairs and grinned at Randy.

"Ready to go, my husband?"

"Yeah..."

Mark had used magic to heal the second-degree burns in his nostrils for which he was now stuck being grateful for. Delicate tissue in the nose apparently, that had to HURT. He held out a hand, bare and grinned when Brooklynn slid hers in it, then winced.

"Oh, that's not okay…"

Apparently, his wife had been thinking about their shower sex and Mark began laughing his ass off. "If something goes wrong, you best reach out to me, Brooklynn." He said, the laughter dying, pulling her into him and dropped a kiss on her lips. "Not Glenn, he's useless."

"I do dishes."

"Fine, he's useful as a maid. Swing by Walmart and get him some fishnets and an apron."

"That is so gross… don't put that shit in my head."

Good, the earrings were working beautifully and Brooklynn could only hope it remained that way. As she stared into her husband's eyes, she saw the acid boiling in them and stroked his face, kissing him passionately. "I promise to be careful and, if I need you, I'll call." Taker wanted to make sure she would be safe and she watched Mark's emeralds return, rubbing her nose against his and kissed him again. "See you in a bit." He nodded, looking a little perplexed and released her as she guided Randy out of the house to the car. "What's the matter, Randy? You look a little confused…"

Probably because, when he touched her, or she touched him, he had been expecting to…find something, but all he saw were images of her and Mark fucking in the shower. "Nope, just wanna get this over with."

"You and me both."

If that's what she had been hiding… Randy shivered. Though, at the same time, he didn't blame her. He and Brooklynn had a strained relationship for a long time, because of him. As much as he hated admitting it, she had picked the right man because a life with him would've doomed her to no contact. Hell, Randy hadn't even been in the competition, really for the both. And it had worked out for Beth as well.

"All right, fill me in on these people and what I need to know, since I'm pretending to be Mark."

On the drive over, since they knew Seth and Claira were at the theater, Brooklynn told Randy as much as she could. Truthfully, she didn't know much about Jennifer other than she was Seth's mother. They had spoken briefly during one of the PTO meetings at school, but other than that, Jennifer kept to herself. She did know her husband had died of cancer 2 years ago, though he wasn't Seth's biological father, just his stepfather. Come to think of it, Brooklynn didn't know what happened to Seth's biological father and Claira hadn't mentioned anything about it.

"Basically, you're my husband, we've been together for 17 years, just recently got married in Mexico and you own a shop in town for auto repairs on vehicles and bikes." Randy wrinkled his nose, making her chuckle, though it was strained due to her nerves. "You ready for this?"

"Let's just hope she doesn't ask me for any advice on her car or something." Randy muttered, shaking his head. He knew how to fix HIS car, sure, but he didn't know anything outside of the auto manual he had bought specifically for that purpose. "Mmm, think she's going to believe I'm from this state?" Mark had a bit of a drawl, Randy did not. When Brooklynn rolled her eyes, he grinned, the corners of his own eyes crinkling. "Lighten up, we got this."

Randy would've figured Trish would have known a thing or two since, apparently, she and Jennifer seen each other a few times a week, but… he imagined Trish hadn't anticipated actually needing to REMEMBER. Seventeen years of basically nothing had left them all a bit… rusty. Maybe.

"Hold on a sec!"

Brooklynn had to take a deep breath, feeling Randy take her hand and once again, he was bombarded with thoughts of only her and Mark with some Claira mixed in. She was also thinking about the ghost she had encountered – Genevieve – and plastered on a smile when the door opened. Jennifer looked confused and somewhat angry at the sight of Brooklynn.

"Hi Jennifer, I know you're upset with me for what happened to Seth, but please let us in so we can explain. This is my husband, Mark." This felt really weird. "Mark, this is Seth's mother, Jennifer."

Jennifer eyeballed his hand, folding her arms in front of her chest tightly and cleared her throat, not sure she wanted to talk to these people. "My boy was EXTREMELY upset when he got home. And he won't tell me what happened, only that Claira probably hates him. And I'm guessing since they're off seeing a movie together, she doesn't, but that still doesn't piss me off any less."

"We completely understand how you feel. Believe me, if it was Claira and the shoe was on the other foot, I would be just as angry as you are, but please give us a chance to explain ourselves and tell you what happened. Seth didn't leave because he was in trouble, he was embarrassed."

"Embarrassed?" Jennifer was intrigued, despite her overprotectiveness with Seth and decided to hear Claira's parents out, guiding them inside. She did not touch Mark's hand, avoiding the handshake due to her current attitude.

This was going to be a lot more complicated than they thought.

"What I want to know," Jennifer began, after dropping down onto her couch, gesturing at the love seat for them. She wasn't in a hospitable mood. It should have been Trish and her husband here apologizing and she'd be sure to let Trish have it when the woman was back in town. "Is how he was embarrassed enough to RUN away in a strange town and then have to call home for money for a ticket?" Money she didn't exactly have to spare, but… that was her son. "Embarrassment doesn't usually send a person, a minor no less, scurrying across the country."

Honestly, Brooklynn was wondering the same thing and was in agreement with Jennifer. "I really don't know, but I can explain to you what happened and…maybe we can figure this out together. By the way, Trish and Steve are on their way back to Texas as we speak. They yesterday morning, so they should get in sometime tonight and Trish has tried calling you, but…you haven't answered your phone."

For good reason, she didn't blame the peeved woman at all. Brooklynn had somehow read her mind, without actually doing it and swallowed hard at the scrutiny being shot her way. She explained what happened, from the beginning with Claira and Seth being caught making out and dry humping each other on the couch, to finding Seth had left the house without telling anyone.

"I had a plane ticket bought for him to make sure he arrived safely, but…he left on his own and I still don't understand why. I was hoping he had talked to you about it." She wasn't surprised when Jennifer shook her head. "It looks like we're both in the dark about why he left so abruptly then." If they had to, Randy would simply find his way over to Jennifer and touch her anyway because they needed those visions.

"Obviously, there's something you're not telling me because I know my son, he's not one to take off like that over being in trouble for making out," Jennifer said, raising a slow eyebrow. "Someone say something to him? Make him feel unwelcomed or threatened for what happened? He hasn't had it easy since my husband died."

Randy gently placed a hand on Brooklynn's knee, squeezing. She hadn't said 'his father', she had said 'my husband'. "Maybe he overheard Brooklynn and Claira's argument." He said slowly, his normally raspy voice a bit lower than usual. "Claira's Aunt did say some things that shouldn't have been said and Claira, spitfire she is, had some words of her own." He smiled sheepishly. "You know how kids are, Brooklynn and I didn't raise her to sass off to adults."

"Do any of us?" Kids were kids.

"Claira said some pretty… nasty things and got popped for it."

"Oh… oh, I see… well, that explains a few things then."

"He wasn't in the room at the time though. Her uncle had taken Seth upstairs to his room to give him and Claira some space. I made sure he was out of the room before the fight between me and Claira went down." Brooklynn countered, looking down at the hand she had slapped her daughter with and sighed heavily. "I didn't mean to slap her either. I'm not a child abuser…"

"Oh, believe me, I don't doubt that." Now Jennifer was looking a little more sympathetic. "My husband and I…argued a lot. Seth has known him since he was a baby, after all, and…"

"What do you mean?" That had made Brooklynn's head snap up.

"Well, you see, my husband and I adopted Seth when he was a baby. Just shy of 2 weeks old. His biological mother had died giving birth." Jennifer explained, not realizing the crucial information she just gave him. "I'll never forget going to the adoption agency and they brought in the cutest baby boy I'd ever laid my eyes on. My husband fell in love too and we adopted Seth instantly, after some background checks and going through the process of adoption. It took a month before Seth was fully ours and…you have to understand, we were new parents, so we did argue frequently about anything and everything. Throughout Seth's childhood, every time we started arguing, he would…leave the apartment and go somewhere else. It happened the first time when he was 5. Then again at 7 and again at 9…it has to be a really bad argument or fight for him to leave though. So that must've been pretty bad between you and Claira."

"It was." There was no point in denying it. "Do you mind me asking when your son's birthday is?"

"July 13th, why do you ask?"

July 13th…the boy was adopted by Jennifer and her late husband, who died of cancer. Brooklynn had to keep her composure and smiled at Jennifer, trying to seem genuine. "Just wondering since that's Claira's birthday as well."

Jennifer started laughing. "Really? You're kidding me, right?"

"No, not even a little bit." Brooklynn managed to force a laugh out, feeling Randy squeeze her knee again to keep her calm. "They're exactly one year apart in age since I know he's 17 and she's 16…now soon to be 17." It was only a few months away, both of their birthdays. "Anyway, I'm really sorry we scared him away and made him leave. We never meant for this to happen and…I hope he's not too upset over it." Genevieve… was the ghost who had visited her dreams Seth's deceased mother?

That was really all the information they were going to be able to get without being pushy or overly nosy. Randy doubted they would be able to push their luck. Jennifer had relaxed a bit, but… she still had a bit of wariness in her eyes. He didn't blame her, if he had kids, he would've been too. Of course, if he had HER kid… One way to find out.

"Well, we just wanted to come and check in, try to explain and sort this all out. We're so sorry, if we had known…"

"No… I doubt even Claira knows. What boy likes to show that kind of stuff to a girl?"

"Male pride." Randy smiled sheepishly, standing up and extending his hand.

This time, Jennifer took it.

"Thank you for talking to us. At least we understand Seth a little more now and we don't blame him for running off. I just hope he's alright and he doesn't blame Claira for what happened."

Brooklynn couldn't wait to get back to the car and find out everything Randy had seen, though it probably would be what Jennifer just told them. One thing was certain, Seth was born and raised in Houston and his birthday really troubled her. It was looking more and more like Seth was the threat they had to stop.

"Oh, not at all. He's not mad at anyone, he was just happy to be home. And the next time you go on a trip and want to invite him, please take him yourself. I thought I could trust Trish and Steve, but that was a mistake and it won't happen again." Jennifer released Mark's hand, smiling a little softer at them and lead them to the door.

"What did you feel from her?" Brooklynn wasted no time demanding information as soon as they were in the car, out of earshot.

Randy just shook his head, looking and feeling green. "Get me back to the house." He said so quietly she had to strain to hear him.

At her look, his eyes narrowed, but he didn't say a word. He COULDN'T explain yet because he was still processing it. There wasn't something… something wasn't right, he closed his eyes, groaning as wave after wave of nausea hit him. Frowning, Brooklynn felt a shiver of dread rush down her spine as she sped home as fast as she could without breaking the speed limit. What had he felt that was so bad?

The moment she parked the car in the driveway, Randy hopped out before she fully stopped and rushed into the house, barely making it to the bathroom before emptying the contents of his stomach. What the hell? Brooklynn rushed in after him, ignoring Mark and Glenn for the moment and went upstairs to check on Randy, hearing him retching. "Randy!" Her voice was full of panic as Glenn and Mark arrived in record time behind her and Glenn stepped inside to see what was going on.