Pursuit of the Whole

XLVIII. Peeing in a Bottle

During dinner, I couldn't stop fidgeting. My eyes went from left to right, and the food refused to go down.

"Is the food not good?" Kai asks.

"No. No," I responded. "The food is super yummy!" I shove the food into my mouth. I couldn't taste it.

The attention is on me. I place down the fork. "I have something to say."

I've stalled it as long as possible. I should tell them before it blasts all over the news. I'm not surprised if there are cameras all over our front house right now.

Mom exhales softly, "I guess you want to talk about the fugitive in the house now."

"Fugi...tive?" Kai question. "Me?" He points the fork at himself.

Dad messes up his hair, "You smart boy."

Kai smiled softly and ate his broccoli.

"You two knew?"

Mom chuckles, "Well, his poster is plaster all over town."

Dad exhales exaggeratedly, "Great. Now, we can take off the wig."

Kai takes off his wig.

"You knew they knew," I said. "Since when?"

"For me, it was the first day you introduced Kai to us," mom says. "I wasn't certain because of the gender, but Kai's wig fell off when he slept."

"For me, it was when we went fishing together," dad says. "The wind blew the wig off, and...well, I caught him peeing in a bottle."

I look at Kai.

"You say to only pee in bottles."

"Yeah! Upstairs!"

Kai pouts.

I ran my hands through my hair, "At least it makes the next part easier." I cover my mouth with my hands and inhale a deep breath, "Mark-"

"The werewolf boy?" Dad question.

"Yes," I responded. "He helped me set up a court date for Kai."

The fork in dad's hand drops onto the plate.

"W-When is the court date?" Mom asks.

"February 25th."

"That's...next week."

"Yes," I said slowly.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Dad stood up, "We need a plan. I'll go make some phone calls."

Mom got up, "Me too."

"Parents! Parents!" I scream to stop them from calling other people. "We need this case to move as quietly as possible."

"What's going on?" Mom asks.

I fidget in my seat slightly, "I would like it if you two pretend not to know anything about Kai." If we play our cards right, my parents won't be involved in this situation.

My parents look at each other. I know there's a silent discussion inside of their heads.

"No," dad said. "We won't stand by and let our daughter risk herself like this...all alone."

That's what I'm afraid of.

"Dad-"

"Your dad is right," mom says. "In this family, if one of us goes down. We all go down."

I caught Kai staring at his plate.

Dad sat down beside him, "Hey," he said softly.

"This is my fault. I'm sorry." Kai's lips pinch, and he desperately fights back the tears.