Chapter 133: Spending time with Victoria and Alexander

Casey’s POV

By the time dessert was brought to the table, I had stopped checking the time and that surprised me.

When I had agreed to come to the Sterling house, I'd expected every minute to feel like an hour. I'd expected awkward silences, difficult questions and perhaps a constant feeling that I was sitting somewhere I didn't belong.

Instead, the evening had slowly settled into something I hadn't expected something close to normal, well not completely normal because there was still an enormous, complicated history sitting between us but we had laughed and we had talked.

I had learned that Alexander hated mushrooms, that Victoria loved old movies and that the two of them had apparently been arguing about the correct way to make coffee for more than twenty years. It was strangely comforting.

I found myself smiling as Alexander complained about the dessert.

"I don't understand why there are three different cakes."

Victoria looked offended. "Because I didn't know which one you'd prefer."

"You know I like chocolate."

"And what if Casey doesn't?"

I lifted my hand. "I like chocolate."

Victoria immediately looked pleased. "See?"

Alexander shook his head. "I've been outnumbered."

I laughed. "You'll survive."

He pointed at me. "You're already taking her side."

"I think she's been waiting twenty-two years for someone to do that." The words escaped before I could stop them and the room went quiet and I immediately looked down. "I didn't mean—"

"No." Victoria reached across the table and took my hand. "Don't apologize." Her thumb moved gently over my knuckles. "I like that you said it."

I looked at her and she smiled. "I think I've been waiting twenty-two years for you to take my side too."

My eyes burned and I looked away, pretending to be interested in the cake.

Alexander quietly cleared his throat. "I think we're all going to need more dessert."

Victoria laughed. "Definitely."

The conversation moved on but something had changed. I no longer felt like I had to be careful with every word. That didn't mean I suddenly knew how to be their daughter because I didn't but I was beginning to understand that I didn't have to know tonight.

After dessert, Victoria suggested coffee.

Alexander groaned. "Do we need coffee at this hour?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I want some."

He looked at me. "Welcome to the family."

I laughed. "I think I've just discovered who runs this house."

Victoria smiled proudly. "Finally."

We moved into the living room. I sat on the sofa while Victoria disappeared into the kitchen. Alexander sat in the armchair opposite me and for the first time all evening, we were alone.

He looked at me for a moment. "How are you doing?"

I considered the question. "Honestly?"

"Please."

I looked around the room. "Better than I thought I would."

His shoulders relaxed. "I'm glad."

"I'm still overwhelmed." I admitted.

"I expected that."

"But I don't regret coming."

He smiled. "Neither do I."

I looked down at my hands. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do you think this is going to feel less strange?"

He laughed quietly. "I hope so."

"You don't know?" I asked.

"No." He leaned forward slightly. "I've never done this before."

I smiled. "Neither have I."

"Then I suppose we're both learning."

I nodded. There was something reassuring about that. Neither of us had an advantage and neither of us knew what the next step was. We were just figuring it out.

"There is someone you haven't met yet."

My heart skipped. "Who?"

He seemed to realize what he had said and then he smiled. "We'll tell you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Why not tonight?" I asked.

"Because your mother will kill me if I steal her surprise."

I stared at him. "My mother has a surprise?"

He laughed. "Apparently."

I smiled. "Now I'm curious."

"You'll have to wait."

I groaned. "That's cruel."

"I've been waiting twenty-two years." I looked at him and he smiled. "I think you can wait until tomorrow."

I laughed. "Fine."

Victoria returned with the coffee. "What are you two talking about?"

"Nothing," Alexander said.

I immediately looked at him. "He's hiding something."

Victoria narrowed her eyes. "Alexander."

He held up his hands. "Tomorrow."

She stared at him and then she looked at me. "You'll find out tomorrow."

I smiled. "Now I'm definitely curious."

Victoria laughed. "I suppose I can survive one night."

We settled back into conversation and eventually, I realized how late it had become. I looked toward the clock. "It's almost ten."

Victoria's smile faded slightly. "I know." There was something almost sad in her voice.

I looked at her. "I should probably go."

She nodded. "I know."

She didn't argue and that somehow made it harder. She stood. "I'll walk you out."

Alexander followed us to the front door. I slipped my shoes back on. Victoria stood in front of me and neither of us spoke then she reached for my hands. "Thank you for coming."

I smiled. "Thank you for inviting me."

"I'd like to do this again."

"So would I."

Her eyes filled. "Tomorrow?"

I laughed softly. "I think that's a little soon."

She laughed through her tears. "You're right."

She pulled me into a hug. This one felt different from the others, less desperate and more natural. I hugged her back and when we separated, she touched my cheek. "Goodnight, Casey."

"Goodnight, Mom."

She froze and I froze. Alexander looked away, giving us privacy.

Victoria's eyes filled instantly. "Goodnight." Her voice broke.

I smiled. "Goodnight."

She kissed my forehead and then Alexander stepped forward. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

The word caught me off guard.

Sweetheart.

Another little piece of something I'd never had I smiled. "Goodnight."

He hugged me but it wasn't long and it wasn't overwhelming. It was simply warm and when he stepped back, he rested his hand briefly on my shoulder. "Drive safely."

"I will." I opened the door and then I stopped. I turned around. Victoria was standing beside Alexander both of them were watching me. For a second, I wondered whether I should say something anything and then I smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Victoria nodded. "Tomorrow."

I stepped outside and the door closed behind me. I stood on the porch for a moment. The night air was cool against my face. I looked back at the house. Through the glass, I could see my parents still standing there.

My parents.

The words still felt unfamiliar but not impossible anymore. I walked toward Chris’s car he had borrowed to me. Halfway there, my phone buzzed.

Chris: How did it go?

I smiled and I typed back.

It was good. Really good.

A second later:

Chris: Good good, or pretending-to-be-good good?

I laughed.

Really good.

Then another message appeared. Chris: I'm glad. You deserve that.

I stared at the screen. My eyes suddenly filled as I looked back at the house. For twenty-two years, I'd wondered why I hadn't been wanted. Why Rita and Loki had adopted me if they hated me. Why I could never do anything right in their eyes. Why I had spent so much of my childhood feeling like an unwanted guest in the home that was supposed to be mine.

I'd spent years assuming there had to be something wrong with me. Tonight hadn't erased any of that but sitting across from Alexander and Victoria had given me something I hadn't expected. Proof that maybe the problem had never been me and maybe I'd simply been loved by the wrong people.

I wiped my eyes then I got into the car. Before starting the engine, I looked at the house one last time. Tomorrow, I would come back and tomorrow, I would learn what Alexander had been hiding and maybe I'd learn something else about the family I'd never known I had.

I started the car and pulled away.

Inside the Sterling house, Victoria remained by the window long after my car disappeared from view.

Alexander walked up behind her. "She's coming back."

Victoria smiled through her tears. "She said tomorrow."

He wrapped an arm around her. "I know."

She leaned against him. "She's really here."

He kissed the top of her head. "She's really here."

Neither of them knew how much Casey's life was about to change again because tomorrow, she would finally meet the person who had been waiting for her without ever knowing she was missing and not dead.