✔Cupcakes to Kill For

18. Morning Routine 🧁

From his bedroom window, Casey watched as snowflakes drifted all around the yard. His phone buzzed with another unread message from August as he sighed. The phone laid on his nightstand, still charging from last night. Casey hadn't figured out what to do about him or if he needed to listen to his father.

After getting stoned last night, Casey realized how being around August tempted him to slip into old habits. It was nothing like when he smoked a little pot with Xavier. They always made sure Casey got home on time to see his son and didn't stay out all night.

When he'd been with Veronica, he used to hang out with the gang members all the time. Even after the incident, they never blamed him for parting with her. They considered him like family, and Casey knew he shouldn't take pride in that, but he only had a handful of close friends in his life. Including the guys and gals in their gang.

Casey wished he could stay in touch with them, but he knew better than to stick around them. It wouldn't be long before they'd try to officially recruit him if he stayed. While Casey overlooked some of their drug use, he couldn't get swept up in their nefarious lifestyle like Veronica did.

Wyatt slept soundly in his bed, soft snores drifting throughout their shared room. Casey hadn't slept well last night. Every time he closed his eyes and tried to think of peaceful things, his mom's bleeding corpse came to mind. If she could see him now, Casey knew his mom would be disappointed in him for messing around with the Black Vipers again.

Another thought crossed his mind. What if the Black Vipers were behind his mom's murder? Nausea clawed at his throat at the idea of getting high and goofing off with his mom's killer. While they'd accepted him like one of their own, Casey knew that didn't mean they'd protect his family. They'd kill them all in a heartbeat if they had to.

Why the hell had he gone back there?

A soft knock on his door ripped him out of his thoughts, grateful to not be consumed in what if's anymore. Before he could respond, Lani's red hair came into view as she peeked her head inside.

"Hey, just checking up on you," Lani told him.

"I'm alright, I guess." Casey shrugged, sparing a glance at Wyatt. "But there's something I wanna talk to you about.

"What's up?" Lani asked.

"Not here. I don't wanna wake Wyatt."

Lani nodded as Casey quietly followed her out in the hallway. He rubbed at his tired eyes, fighting back another yawn. As they made their way into the living room, Casey considered telling his sister about his time with the Black Vipers but then thought better of it. She'd only chew his ass out for being irresponsible.

"I believe Dad," Casey said.

"But what about Frieda and those chats between them?" Lani asked. "You can't tell me it's not his profile."

"I don't think he created it," Casey replied. "Think about it. Dad's not tech savvy. I can't see him deleting his previous browser history from visiting the site."

"Well, he obviously didn't do a good job since he didn't delete them all," Lani pointed out. "Casey, I know it's hard to stomach, but Dad's been cheating. I just wish he'd be honest with us."

"It makes no sense. When would Dad have time to message that woman?" Casey asked. "Just look at some of the times he messaged her. He was at work or with us. Someone's trying to frame him for mom's murder."

Lani pursed her lips. "I hadn't checked the times... But maybe he used his phone? We just never noticed."

"I think we'd notice if he was always on his phone," Casey replied. "Dad told me that those gang members he dealt with took his laptop, then gave it back. My theory is that they created the account and logged him in, hoping the police would see it."