~The Forbidden Fruit~

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Casey pov.

 

Paranoia is a strange thing.

 

It makes you feel like there is some sort of impending event, there's this ominous feeling that something or someone is going to get you.

 

However, I'd never bought into the idea that paranoia is just one's mind playing tricks on you. I believe it comes from a gut feeling and something was telling me that I was in trouble. Every since Monday after my date with Andy, I'd been on the receiving end of one very icy shoulder from my brother. He usually stopped by my room and talked with me for a few minutes about his day, or asked me some idiotic questions about hypothetical situations. Or even slapped me on the back on his way out if he had no time to speak. But lately...I didn't even get an insult about my lack of fashion sense.

 

It was Friday and this was the one day that we decided to skip Friday night fever. Only because Mom sprained her ankle on her date night with Dad when they attempted to put their new found skills to recreational use. As an alternative we decided to have dinner in tonight as a family, Mom prepared her famous stuffed portobello mushrooms and Dad made Margaritas. Virgin of course for us minors. It was oddly tense at the table and everything that I asked Jared to pass my way was either shoved, or slammed on the table near me.

 

After about twenty minutes of this my Dad got fed up and cleared his throat. "Alright, lets get it out in the open, what's going on between you two?"

 

I set my fork down and wiped my mouth with my napkin, "Honestly I'm just as lost as you are."

 

Jared snorted and threw his fork onto his plate aggressively,"Give me a fucking break-"

 

"Language!" Mom scolded him gawking at him like he had grown two heads. Meanwhile I was wondering if he'd sprouted a second personality.

 

At this he scowled and turned a glaring eye onto me, "I think it's dignified since he's lying through his teen. Why don't you cut the innocent act huh?"

 

My eyes were wide with shock and I was taken aback my the utter disdain in his tone. So much so that I couldn't bring myself to aknowledge the fact that he used the word dignified when he meant justified.

 

I stammered under the weight of his accusing eyes,"J-jared honest to God I-I don't know what you're talking about."

 

At this point the base of my brother's neck was beginning to turn red and his fist were balled up so tightly his knuckles were white. Before he could open his mouth though my Dad cut in, trying to get to the bottom of what was going on.

 

"First of all everyone needs to just calm down and quit beating around the bush. Jared, son, what is it that is bothering you about Casey?"

 

A long moment of silence passed as three of us waited in agony for what was going to leave Jared's mouth. I had a plethora of things swirling in my cranium but nothing seemed substantial enough for the reaction he was giving me. For the life of me I couldn't think of what I had done.

 

Through gritted teeth with veins straining in his neck, Jared forced out the answer to the question, "He's dating Andy."