"Dad has no idea I'm here," assured Casey. "And if I had even mentioned the idea to him, I'm guessing he would have told me no."
She took a bite of her sandwich. "And yet here you are," she pointed out.
"Yeah." Casey sighed and sipped his Coke through a straw. "Dad - well, he's been through a lot these past few months. Actually, make that these past few years. Even before he and Mom broke up I could tell he wasn't happy. He works so hard, and has so much responsibility at his job. And he always felt guilty that he couldn't spend enough time with me and Hayley. Mom nagged at him all the time about that, like it was totally his fault, and she wasn't very nice to him. And then, well, I guess you know about all of her, uh, boyfriends."
Sasha arched a brow in surprise. "Your father might have mentioned something about that," she replied carefully. "But what do you know, Casey?"
He shrugged casually. "Enough. I mean, I don't know any details or names or anything gross like that. Eww. But Hayley made some comments about it after Dad moved out. At first I didn't really understand what she was talking about, but after she explained it sort of made sense. Like why Mom wasn't home very often, and liked to go away with her friends on the weekend all the time."
"I'm sorry you had to find that out," Sasha consoled him. "Hayley probably shouldn't have repeated those things to you, especially since you're only fourteen."
"It's not a big deal." Casey swallowed a hefty bite of his burger. "I just felt bad for Dad. And knowing about Mom helped me understand why he wanted to get a divorce. I mean, part of being married is making a commitment to the other person, isn't it? I guess my mother stopped taking that commitment seriously."
"Have you spoken to your mother since you moved in with your dad?"
He nodded at Sasha's question. "Once or twice. She's not very happy with me right now, so we didn't talk very long. Mom sort of blames me for everything that happened, says I shouldn't have been eavesdropping."
Sasha squeezed his hand fiercely. "Do not let her blame you for any of this," she insisted. "It's not really any of my business, but she and Hayley should be ashamed of themselves for lying about something as serious as a pregnancy. And for deliberately trying to manipulate Matthew. You did exactly the right thing in telling your father what you overheard, Casey. I'm sure he feels the same way."
"Yeah, pretty much." Casey grinned mischievously. "In fact, he was so grateful for me telling him the truth that he bought me a brand new laptop for school. Top of the line, too, with every feature you can imagine. If you come by the condo for dinner tonight, I'll show it to you."
She smirked at him knowingly. "I like how you just snuck that last part in there, Casey. Very smooth. Unfortunately, I'm not about to fall for it."
"Please, Sasha." Casey had dropped all hint of teasing or pretense, and was about as serious as she'd ever known him to be. "I know you're mad at my father right now, and you should be. But do you think you can please forgive him, and give him another chance? Dad's a really good guy, and I know he's crazy about you. You'd make him so happy if you came back to him."
Sasha shook her head. "It's not that simple," she explained gently. "And there's more involved than what happened a few months ago. I understand why he felt the need to move back into the house, why he wanted to help your sister - even though it turns out she didn't actually need his help. There's – well, part of it has to do with me, Casey. Because of some stuff that happened to me when I was younger, I have a hard time trusting people. And while I know your father is sorry for what happened, it doesn't make it easier for me to trust him again."
"He was really, really unhappy when the two of you split up," Casey blurted out. "About as sad as I've ever seen him. And I started feeling guilty after awhile. Because as great as it was having him back home again, I didn't want my dad to be sad. And he's still not really happy. I mean, he likes having me around, and he's totally relieved to be away from my mom again. But I don't think he'll ever really be happy again unless you come back to him."
She closed her eyes briefly, scolding herself for letting Casey's pleading sway her feelings this way. "Casey, you need to give me some time, okay?" she told him a bit more sternly than she had intended. "It's only been a few days, after all. And it's wonderful that you care about your father so much, he's so lucky to have a son like you to look out for him. But this isn't an easy decision for me to make."