Page 55 of The Masks We Break

It’s resulted in sore legs, and the inability to run, which is exactly what I want to do right now.

Instead of finding my table, I decide to stay close to the dark halls and observe everything from afar. As long as I show my face, my father won’t care where I am.

The huge space is usually accompanied by pillars of different heights, showcasing various artifacts. Leather couches and white marble tables line the walls for students to study. But tonight, it’s empty of anything remotely educational. In its place, dozens of black covered tables, vases of red roses, and dozens of pillar candles.

People, who aren’t remotely familiar, walk around and mingle, drinks tight in their hands. I wonder if my mother would like these things. If she would be in the middle of the room, stealing everyone’s attention, or if she’d be ducked off in a corner, spectating from a distance like me. I wonder if we’re anything alike.

Something tells me she would be the light of the party.

I wish I knew more about her. What she was like when she was sad, or excited. When she had free time, what she would do.

My bà ngo?i used to tell me stories, though those memories have long faded, too young to hold on to every detail. I barely remember my grandmother, but I do recall how she made me feel. The love in her clouded eyes when she would tell me stories of our homeland. The tightness in her hold as if she was scared to let me go.

But then there was a fight. I’ve tried to think back and pick out what was said, but it never comes to me. Only that she kissed me on my head, and whispered Tôi m?n b?n,I love you, before disappearing.

She’s the only one that ever told me that they loved me. That I mattered.

My heart squeezes, a twisted ache taking hold of my chest. What I wouldn’t give to hear those words again. To know that I’m someone’s world.

Sighing, I lean against the corner of the wall, and rub at the ache. And despite the pain, I continue to picture a beautiful woman, twirling around the gala, a twinkle in her eyes, and a nose just like mine.

My father leans against the bar surveying the bustling waitstaff, a look of indifference tugging his lips down at the corners. He’s only at the Solace gala to show face. He’s done business with the science department before, and donates often, an attempt to show his continued gifting to education, when really it’s just a tax write-off.

I’m here because I knowshewill be. We haven’t talked since Friday night, but a second hasn’t gone by that I haven’t thought about her. Wondered what she was doing. How she was feeling. But I also don’t want to make what happened an everyday affair.

She’s my favorite distraction, but still one nonetheless. When I’m with her, everything else drowns away in the background. Nothing else matters. And just as I predicted, that’s dangerous.

She’s dangerous.

“I saw the Cassidy contract is complete.” My father’s voice grates against my nerves, but I swallow back my annoyance, nodding my head.

“Yes, sir.”

“Did they not have any issues with the central clauses?”

This forces my face to him, a slimy sensation rolling down my back. “Why would they?”

“Well, I know the Cassidy woman to be very thorough. So I’m surprised she didn’t pay attention to the page number she signed.” A smug sneer curls my father’s lips.

Dread drops into the pit of my stomach, sending nausea rolling in my gut. “She signed page one hundred twent—”

“Thirty-two.”

No.

“You both must have been distracted since you didn’t realize the finalized contract that was sent for her to sign was missing additional details. I knew it was wise to send you. You’re the honest face they think they can trust…”

His words become nothing more than background noise as I’m pulled under water. A true pup to my father’s bared shark jaws. He used me. Played me like a fucking fool and I was too goddamn distracted by my thoughts of Remy that I didn’t bother recombing through the file. And Mrs. Cassidy...

Fuck.

She was preoccupied with a husband that couldn’t keep his hands off her long enough to breathe, and she trusted me. Trusted that I had their business’s best interest at heart and wasn’t trying to fuck them over. Not to mention my files were saved to the cloud for the lawyers to make the half dozen adjustments, so I’m sure my original file is long gone.

My chest feels as if it’s been caved in by a boulder, and I clutch at it, tugging at my lapel, straining for air.

One, two, three, four, five, six.

One, two, three, four, five, six.

---