Page 13 of Hate Me
He laughed too as he set about plating a cupcake each for us.
As we pulled up a stool beside each other and dug in, the taste reminding me of the days of simplicity and warmth from when my parents were alive, he stared at me.
“What is it, sweetheart?” I asked, as I watched his mouth open and close, as though he was fighting himself with voicing whatever had just come to mind.
“You wished for him, didn’t you? For Cal to come back?”
“In essence.” More than that, actually. I wished for all four of us, to restore we’d lost.
He rubbed my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Cas.” He ate some of his icing, then licked it off his lips and said, “He’s had time now. Your wish could very well be on its way to coming true.”
“Information has come to me, Bastian. Regarding Caleb.”
He arched an eyebrow. “You got a lock on him? You know where he is?”
“I do.”
“And?”
“And he’s well.”
“Well, that’s a relief. Where is he? What’s he doing?”
Currently where he shouldn’t be. Endangering himself. “Assisting a friend.”
“A friend? So he’s made connections then? He hasn’t just gone the loner route?”
“For the most part he has. That’s part and parcel of who he is. You and I were the only exceptions beforehand. But he has developed a couple of friendships in his absence, yes.”
“Friendships that will keep him there?”
I shrugged and took another bite of my cupcake.
“With you knowing where he is now, it stands to reason that you can now reach out and contact him, yes?”
“Correct.”
“And? Are you going to?”
“It’s not for me to bring him back. He has to want that on his own. He left for a reason. If that isn’t resolved, it won’t change anything. It won’t keep him here.”
He nodded, taking my words in.
And then he asked the question I’d hoped he wouldn’t.
“Do you think he will, Cas? Do you think he’ll actually come back to us?”
“I don’t know.”
We stared at each other, the weight of it rolling off us.
And then Bastian grasped my hand and said, “Enough of all of that. We have each other. We’re doing well. And tonight is a celebration.” He gestured at the cupcake I was almost through. “Good, huh?”
I smiled. “You’ve outdone yourself.”
“Damn straight.”
I chuckled and he joined me.