Sobbing, my mom pulled up the edges of her gown, hiking them above her ankles, and fled the living room. I moved to go after her, but Stefan made an imperceptible gesture and I sat back down on the couch.
This is between Dad and Evelyn, his eyes seemed to say to me.
Terry turned to look at us. “I’ve really screwed things up, haven’t I?”
“Just go talk to her, Dad,” Stefan bade. “I’m sure she’ll listen when she calms down.”
Terry cringed and glanced down the hallway. “Wish me luck, guys.” Shaking his head, he left the room.
“Whatever you do, don’t faint on me,” Stefan was quick to say to me when Terry was gone. He picked up his glass and downed the wine in one gulp. “I’ve had enough shocks for one night.”
“We came so very close to being found out,” I said, ignoring his attempt to make light of the situation. “I thought for sure that Mom was about to jump our shit.”
Stefan nodded. “I did too.”
I stared at the space between us. I badly wanted to move across the couch and into his arms, but I knew I couldn’t. We’d already taken too many liberties, and we were now sitting on a ticking time bomb.
It was just the matter of when before it exploded.
“We're still screwed, though, as soon as the Governor or his son looks at the end of that video.”
“You mean the video on this CD?” Stefan held out a broken CD entitled Gary Rich Theater Presentation. “Nope, I handled that during all the commotion when everyone started leaving.”
“Oh, I never even saw you do that! But why do you think they didn’t recognize us? I mean, even with our costumes on, they could hear our voices. How would my mom not have recognized me?”
“Well, that's an easy one. We only recognized ourselves because we knew already. The video was pretty dark, and think about it from their perspective. They would've never in a million years thought it was us unless they actually saw our faces. Hell, even then, they probably wouldn't believe it. I'm sure everyone there just assumed it was an attempt to embarrass the Governor.”
“I guess,” I admitted. I had already reasoned as much myself. The fact that Stefan had come to the same conclusion made me feel a little bit more secure about the situation.
“Exactly. They had no clue what the fuck that was. I'm just glad Cory finally shut it off in time, or we'd be singing a different tune right about now. Lastly, Veronica came along and unknowingly covered our tracks with that comment toward Dad. Evelyn is going to be focused on that for now, buying us a little more time.”
“I still can’t believe what happened,” I said with a gentle shake of my head. “Veronica really was determined, tracking Terry down online like that. But I just don’t understand how Terry could let himself get caught up in her web.”
Of course you know how, I told myself. He’s a man, and all men have two heads, and sometimes, the smaller head wins.
Stefan clenched his jaw. “Even though Veronica baited him, I’m going to find it hard to forgive him for what he did. Hell, I’d seen him in the office. I thought he’d been watching a few pornos or something, not online cheating. He could have easily turned her down after he found out what she was about.”
“But is it really that easy though?” I asked. “Come on, you’re a guy. My mom is getting up there in years and doesn't have the body of a young twenty-year-old. I mean, it’s not bad, but it’s not Veronica’s. What man, young or old, wouldn’t find it hard to resist someone with a body like Veronica’s?”
I had to admit, I was asking this question for my own benefit. I wanted to see Stefan’s reaction because, despite all that he’d said to me about my ever-changing appearance, I couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious about gaining weight.
Stefan stared at me. “Yeah, it is that easy. I’m a man of my word. If I commit to something, I’m in until it’s over. That’s it. I thought Dad was the same type of man, as he raised me to be that way, but I guess I was wrong.”
“I don’t know. My heart bleeds for Mom, but at the same time, I feel bad for Terry. It was kind of our fault.”
Stefan glowered. “Dad’s actions put him in the position he is in now. He doesn’t deserve your sympathy . . . or mine, for that matter.”
I grew silent in the face of Stefan’s anger. I was shocked, actually. He seemed to be more upset about what Terry did than I was.
“In fact, I’m going to need you to stay completely out of this.”
“Why?”
“Judging by how serious Evelyn sounded, things are about to get really, really ugly. I’m sorry, Bella, but I know Evelyn almost as well as you do. She won't hesitate to use you as a pawn should this come down to a divorce.”