Who: Brianna and Sebastian Where: Home When: Late evening, Saturday, January 20 Status: Complete
It had been a disconcerting night. At least it had been ever since she was overcome with the sudden realization that there were people out there who meant to harm her. She even knew who they were. A odd mix of people, seemingly random even. The librarian. The trainer at her gym, one she had used on occasion. The Castell’s son. And Sebastian’s ex-girlfriend. Margaret Cooper’s daughter. Brianna had nearly called her friend to threaten, to warn her to keep Jules away from Brianna and her home. But she couldn’t risk questions. Not yet.
At the moment, she was pacing around in the dark in the living room, waiting for Sebastian to return home. He had gone to winter formal tonight and Brianna knew Jules would be there. She knew Jules would be at any after party as well. Were they together now? Was Jules trying to turn Sebastian against his own mother? It was possible. Brianna couldn’t say for sure what Jules and the three men were planning - three grown men with a teenage girl sounded perverted and sinister, if you asked Brianna. But Brianna also knew from Margaret that Jules was dating the Lucas boy, so… whores were whores, weren’t they? Lying and manipulative.
Brianna’s patience was wearing thin and she nearly grabbed her phone to call Sebastian and demand he come home at once, but then she heard the front door unlocking and she waited, her hands on her hips. “Sebastian, come in here,” she called, once she heard his footsteps in the foyer. “Now.”
Sebastian was feeling nice and lazy and satiated on the two minute drive home from Theo’s and was looking forward to crawling in bed and passing out as soon as he got home. All those warm fuzzies began to evaporate at the sound of his mother’s voice when he walked through the door. Despite the urgency in her voice, he hesitated, straightening his clothes to make sure they were all on. There was nothing he could do about the lingering smell of weed, but he buttoned one more button on his shirt so it wasn’t hanging completely open, then walked quietly into the living room. His parents had never waited up for him, not since he could drive himself home, and he wasn’t sure if he was in trouble or if something bad had happened. “Hey,” he said, sliding his hands in his pockets and doing his best to play it cool. “I thought you’d be asleep. Everything okay?”
"No," Brianna said simply. She felt no concern for Sebastian, only for herself. Her gaze was hard and intense, as if she could see inside his mind and pull out any secrets he might be hiding from her. Her son was good at that. Wasn't he always keeping things from his family? "Where have you been? Were you with her? Don't lie to me." It didn't occur to Brianna that she might sound crazy, or that her words could be confusing. All she could do was picture Sebastian being around that... girl and letting her poison him against his mother.
“Who? Chloe?” Bash asked, perplexed as to what other girl he might have been with. “I was at an afterparty. She might still be there. She was gonna Uber.” It wasn’t a lie, just a small omission. There was no reason for his mother to know he’d been at Theo’s before coming home. It suddenly occurred to him that his mother might be asking about Phee. If he’d beat her home, there was a chance she was in trouble, but he’d cover for her if he could. And text her as soon as he got past his mother. “Why?”
Brianna's brows furrowed together and she shook her head. He was playing dumb and that only rankled her further. "Not Chloe. Jules. I don't know what you were up to tonight, or what she's told you, but I want you to stay away from her. She's not to come to this house, and you're not to see her anymore. Do you understand me?" Brianna was breathing heavily now, imagining herself having to lock Sebastian in his room to keep him inside. At least until they took care of Jules Cooper, and the others. And they would take care of them. They had to.
Jules. Right. How the fuck was he supposed to know that? It sounded to Bash like his mother had lost her mind, or at least had too much to drink, but he did his best to keep up with what she was saying, even if it made no sense. “What? No,” Sebastian said, half laughing in disbelief. “She’s my friend. You can’t tell me not to talk to her.” Why would she even care? He tried to think about what he and Jules had talked about earlier in the evening, but was coming up with nothing at the moment. It wouldn’t have mattered. She had no say in who he hung out with.
"She's not your friend," Brianna snapped. "She's dangerous. Not only to me, but plenty of other people. You don't know what she's capable of. I'm asking you to stay away from her. If you want to disobey me, then I'll have to take matters into my own hands, Sebastian. Don't push me." Her voice had taken on a dark tone and her hands fell away from her hips. It would be so easy to walk over to the Cooper house right now and set it on fire. She could do it without ever striking a match. No one would ever know what happened.
“Do you know how crazy you sound? She’s a high school cheerleader, not a serial killer,” Sebastian said, struggling to make sense of the venom his mother was spewing. Was it possible she knew about Jules’s hands and the portals they created? Bash didn’t think she’d even told her mother, so it was doubtful. Other than that, the only danger that Jules created was that of a queen bee and that was nothing compared to what he’d faced recently. “She’d never hurt me. Or you. I don’t know what you think you know, but you’ve got it wrong, Mom.”
Brianna suddenly understood what it meant to see red. Being talked to that way from her own son was maddening, especially as he didn't seem to understand the danger she was in. "You have no idea what you're talking about. It's not just Jules. It's those men she's involved with. I suppose you're covering for them too." She approached Sebastian, wishing she could just kick him out. Throw him to the night and lock the doors. "But then again, maybe you have no idea what's going on. She's up to something. They all are. You can tell me I sound crazy, but I know. She's dangerous and evil, and I'm not going to let her hurt me, or any of the others."
“What men? What others?” Bash asked, exasperated by the whole exchange. His mother was effectively ruining his high with what sounded like nonsense. The longer he talked to her, the more tired he felt and he just wanted to go upstairs and fall into bed. “Where is this even coming from? Jules would never hurt you. It’s Jules, mom. You liked her.” Of all his girlfriends, his mother had seemed the happiest with Jules, probably because they made such a good match in terms of social stature, but he’d also thought they got along, at least on the few interactions they had. Jules was the kind of girl he could have over, who’d known the right things to say to his parents, who would’ve been the perfect girlfriend if he wasn’t gay. This turn of events made no sense to Sebastian, especially this late at night. “Can this wait til morning?” he asked. Maybe whatever she was on would’ve worn off by then. He could only hope.
She was convinced now that Sebastian was protecting Jules. He was playing dumb, protecting her over his own mother. It should have been devastating, but instead it just infuriated her. But she would take care of it. She would take care of the problem with Jules, and the problem with her own children. Both of them. Brianna was feeling stronger every day. Stronger, happier. Once she got rid of the obstacles, it would feel even better. There was no stopping them now, no matter how hard they tried. "Go to bed, Sebastian," Brianna said darkly. "I'll take care of it myself."
Sebastian sighed heavily, relieved to be dismissed from the conversation. He didn’t know what his mother was going on about, but hopefully she’d wake up in the morning and realize she was out of line. He wasn’t normally the sort to fight her on things, always concerned with her approval of him, but there were a few people in his life that he considered out of her reach of influence. Greg was the first. Jules, over the last few months, had become the second. And nothing his mother said could convince him that he should cut her out of his life. “I’ll see you in the morning,” he said quietly, but her parting words worried him. He’d text Jules as soon as he got to his room. It was probably nothing, but it was better to be safe than sorry.