XII
"Oh my God, Kennedy are you okay?" Mom's worried voice hit me as soon as the call went through, I didn't even know it rang. Her voice startled me so much I had to remove the phone from my ears.
"Hey mom, I'm great.." my fingers massaged my temples. I felt a headache forming.
"Where are you?" Her voice was calm now. Too calm.
I knew where this was heading,
"I may have slept at the hotel in the building from yesterday night.. I'm on my way home now." I flung myself off the bed. My clothes were scattered all over the room.
"My goodness Kennedy, do you have any idea of how worried I was? Did you even think about how worried I would be? You just decided to leave me there? On my own??" Thankfully I had put the phone away from my ear this time, so it didn't hurt as much.
I exhaled while struggling to wear my pants.
Mom gasped.
"Did you take a girl with you??"
This was the conversation she only had with Jonathan.
"I'm on my way home mom, I have a headache.." I sighed into the phone.
"That won't do, come home right this instant." She hung up before I could even say anything.
I had to take a taxi home, mom had taken the car home, and despite knowing where I was, she didn't send a car for me. I didn't want to call my driver, so a taxi was my next best option.
"You have become another Jonathan.." Jonathan said smiling as soon as he saw me.
I plopped down beside him on the couch. My arm went to shield my eyes from the light instantly.
"Hung over?" He asked as he passed me a glass of water. I took a sip from it before passing it back.
"Nope."
Mom walked out from her room, she wore a casual gown that stopped below her knees. Her feet was clad in a simple sandals. Her face didn't reveal what she was thinking.
"Go take a shower, we are having dinner with your brother's wife."
I looked over to Jonathan in surprise, his smile was small.
"Dad agreed?"
"Mom forced him to be civil."
I nodded my head in understanding.
"I better go ahead and shower, I can't meet my sister in-law smelling like garbage." I announced before standing up and walking towards my room.
"We have something important to discuss when you come out." Mom told me before she walked right past me.
I breathed hard through my nostrils, I usually didn't have the talk with my parents, so I wondered what the topic of the discussion would be.
When I got out of the shower, the headache had cleared. Maybe it was the cold bath I just had. Or the nice aroma from all the food Anita was cooking downstairs.
"I heard you spent the night in a hotel.." Cam spoke as he barged into my room.
I rolled my eyes, mom always gave Cam reports about me as if he was my father.
"I thought this was a family meal, what are you doing here?" I asked him as I picked out a black turtleneck.
"Wear this one, and yes it is a family meal.." he picked a white turtleneck from my closet as he answered. I ignored him and wore the black one that I already got out of the closet.
He snickered,
"So how was it? Better than your imagination with Clarissa Jones?" His hands crossed his chest as he leaned back on the wall.
I spared him a glance, he was wearing a white turtleneck, he wanted us to wear matching clothes. Something was definitely wrong with Cam.
"Speaking of Clarissa, I'm going all out. I need to find her.."
"So it wasn't better..." He commented.
"Go out Cam, I want to wear pants." I ordered since he wasn't going to listen to me.
"I have always seen you dress up, are you hiding from me?" He feigned a hurt tone. I knew I'd have to push him out myself or he would not move.
I pushed him out of the door as he laughed, when he was out I locked it. Cam was too much sometimes.
My phone was resting in my palm, my index finger hovered above the contact of my private investigator. I contemplated calling him, the last time I called him was to find Jonathan.
But what exactly would I say, I was certain she gave me a fake name. I didn't get anything more than her fake name that night.
"The girl is here Kennedy, come out right now." Mom's voice was still firm. She was annoyed with me. I sighed before putting my phone in my back pocket. The private investigator would have to wait.
I heard a female's voice that wasn't mom talk excitedly from the patio. I walk in, and everyone turn to look at me. My eyes fall on the unfamiliar woman sitting by my brother's side. She smiled so brightly, it might have burned my eyes.
"Hello, you must be Kennedy, I'm Clarissa, I've heard so much about you from your brother." She stood up to shake me. She was a tall woman, and I shook her right back. Mom mouthed at me from behind her, telling me to smile.
I smiled,
"Nice to meet you, I heard about a lot about you too.. I hope he only said good things about me." We ended the hand shake before it got awkward.
She laughed,
"Yes, your brother absolutely adores you."
That was the last sentence that was addressed to me personally. Everything else that was said was a group discussion. Even Dad was warming up to her. I mainly focused on my food as I didn't have breakfast yet, so I ate a lot.
A thought occured to me.
"Clarissa?" I called out, drawing her attention and everyone else's to me.
"Did you visit The Club last Friday?"
She nodded instantly, without thinking about it.
"My girls and I went there to celebrate, they drank the alcohol though, I only drank water." She giggled a bit.
"Is there a problem?" Mom asked.
My eyes caught Cam's eye from across the table.
"Your girls.. does any of them like to impersonate you? Or something like that?" I asked her, ignoring mom's question.
She laughed,
"All girls give out their friend's name when asked their name.. did you meet any of them?"
"Yeah, I met a Clarissa Jones, and she was not you.."