CAKE

One Hundred Forty-Nine

Mallory

Smiling, I keep my eyes on Casey and Anne as they talk about lord knows what while we eat. It was their last day here, or rather their last few hours before they left. So, I wanted to spend more time with them and Casey before we had to say goodbye.

"May I ask you something?" Anne questioned before chewing and swallowing a forkful of scrambled eggs. Traci and my mother glanced over at Anne, wondering what she wanted to ask. And knowing my sister it could either be... inappropriate or... no, just inappropriate.

Finally swallowing her food, Casey eyed my sister, letting her know she could ask whatever it was she wanted to ask. "Kathryn... is she your ex-girlfriend?"

Instead of Casey choking on her food, it was me. I hadn't expected anyone to question their relationship. But knowing my sister... and my mother, they definitely could tell there was something there. Maybe more so on Kathryn's side but, it was there.

Reaching over, Casey pats my back softly and rubs it before turning her attention toward Anne. "She... uh... she's my ex-fiancé, yes. Why?"

Traci hums, keeping her gaze on her food, probably already knowing the reason. "Nothing. It's just... you know she's still in love with you, right? Like I figure you're a smart girl so you could tell when someone has a crush on you or is in love with you. And that woman is... she is in love."

My eyes shift to Casey as she clenches her jaw. She knew it. I knew it. Everyone knew it. It was no surprise, but Casey still didn't like talking about it. I mean who would? Kathryn is her ex-fiancé and she's no longer in love with her so why would she ever like talking about Kathryn still being in love with her?

"You guys remember when I came to visit last year, and you asked me about some personal things? Well, she's the ex-fiancé I left after our daughter and my father died. She... she was never able to heal properly or move on. And I mean, when I did come back to Houston, I hadn't moved on either. It was a lot of uhm..." she glances at me before turning her attention away.

"There was a lot of unanswered questioned between us and for a long time there was a lot of sexual tension there. And then I jump into a relationship, and I fall out of love with her, meanwhile she's been in love with me since she was 26. Even though she's had plenty of other partners before me... she treats me like I was her first love. But I guess I kind of was... she was only with men before me, and I was the first woman she fell in love with."

Anne hums and nods her head, "So she's still obsessed because of the sex?"

This time it's Casey's turn to choke as she eyes my sister like she just murdered someone. Traci raises her fork, pointing it at Casey. "I'm so confused. If she's been in love with you this whole time..., why does she have a kid with someone else?"

"She's been trying to move on, and she thought having kids... a kid would help. But that dude's a piece of shit anyway and she deserves so much better than he gave her," Casey spits, annoyed at the thought of Mateo as she aggressively bites into her pancake.

"If I didn't know you were in love with my daughter, I'd believe you'd still have some feelings for her," my mom mutters beside me softly. 

Casey frowns at the words before she clears her throat. "It's not that I have feelings for her because I don't. But Kathryn's been in my life for 10 years, she's no longer just my ex, she's my friend... she's family. And I care for her, deeply. I want her to be happy and whole for a change. She's... she's been hurting for a very long time; I just want her to be happy."

Feeling as though we've spent enough time on the subject, I decide to change the topic. "We're really going to miss you guys. Can't you stay for another few months?" I halfheartedly joke.

Anne and Traci laugh as my mom places her hand on her heart and coos. "Baby, if you want to be close to home, you should just move back to Dallas. Bring Casey too, we'll be a big happy family."

Casey chuckles, "As amazing as that would be, Dallas sucks compared to Houston."

Three pair of eyes land on the brown-skinned woman, glaring daggers into her soul. "Casey, I like you but don't make me kill you because my sister really loves you," Anne voiced.

"Mallory, you might need to find a new girlfriend," Traci spat. 

I can't help but laugh at the three. "Look, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to agree with Casey on this one. I prefer Houston over Dallas any day. It's more diversity here and it's way more popular than Dallas is, in my opinion," I defend my girlfriend.

My mom gasps before pushing me away from her. "I can accept you being a lesbian, hell I can accept you not wanting kids... but this? This? This is outrageous! No child of mine should ever prefer Houston over Dallas, the monstrosity," she spat causing everyone at the table to burst into a fit of laughter.

- - - - -

No matter how much I wanted my family to stay, they needed to get back home. I groan as I pull Anne and Traci into a bear hug. "I'm going to miss you guys. Maybe Casey and I will visit more now that we've grown closer," I voice with a pout.

The two chuckle but nod in agreement. "That's a deal. And maybe we can come down every once in a while, too," Traci smiles as she pulls away.

Once we pull away and get our final goodbyes out of the way, they make their way to Casey and their luggage as my mother makes her way to me. We hug each other tightly and I hold on a little longer, not wanting to let go because I knew once I did it'd be a while until I could see her face to face again.

"Oh, I'm going to miss you baby," she sighs as she rubs my back. "I know mama, I'm going to miss you a lot. I don't know when we'll be able to visit or when you guys can visit again," I voice, practically crying.

She chuckles and pulls away to look at my face. "Baby, you know we can still face time and call and text. I'm just 4 hours away... and like an hour away by flight," she smiles as she rubs my arms lovingly.

Sighing, I nod, knowing that was true. "I love you," I pout.

Her smile grows, "I love you too, baby."

"Mama, we have to go. You know TSA takes way too long, especially in Houston," Anne voiced as she and Traci began making their way to the sliding doors. My mom sighs as she glances back at them before eyeing me again. She steps closer, eyes meeting mine seriously.

It slightly worries me. "Be careful," she mutters, raising her brows.

I furrow mine. "I always am, mama."

She nods her head, "I know. But I'm talking about Kathryn."

My brows raise in confusion, wondering what she was hinting at. The older, brown-skinned woman sighs. "Be careful around her, a desperate woman is a dangerous woman."

Clenching my jaw, I eye my mother but before I could question what she could possibly mean, she was already walking away. So here I stand, eyeing the spot she was just in, wondering what she meant when she said, 'A desperate woman is a dangerous woman'.

Was she implying Kathryn would try to sabotage my relationship with Casey? Would she try to kill me? There are so many ways to interpret what she meant, and I don't know which one to focus on.

Casey placing her hand on the small of my back brought me out of my daze. She smiled softly. "Are you okay?"

Blinking slowly, I nod my head, deciding to ignore my mother's words. At least for now. There was no use overthinking it. Kathryn isn't that kind of person. I mean... she wishes us well. Why would she go out of her way to support us if she's just going to ruin it in the end?

Casey kisses my cheek, "C'mon, let's go home."

Letting out a breath, I nod my head and make my way to the passenger side and climb in. There's no way Kathryn would do anything to hurt Casey and I'm confident to say she wouldn't try to hurt me either. 

I sigh and put on my seatbelt. I guess I'll find out in the future what's true and what's not. My eyes land on Casey and I can't help but smile at the wide grin sitting on her kissable lips.

For now, I just want to focus on her. On us.