Page 76 of Until He Confesses

A very heavy silence followed her mother's request, and once again, I didn't need to turn to see just how unhappy Callie was by this. A few minutes later, I heard the door slide open behind me and then shut close.

"I don't think we have very long before she becomes restless," she said, and I was amused by this.

"You're right," I said, and she watched me.

“Things seem... cordial between you two," she said, and I nodded.

"They are."

"There's still tension, isn't there?" she asked, and I nodded again.

“Of course.”

"I heard what happened," she said, and I couldn't help but stiffen.

"I apologize if bringing it up makes you uncomfortable, but I actually only just heard about it a few weeks ago."

This surprised me, as it was the case with Anna as well.

"She didn't tell you?"

"No," she replied. "I don’t think she told anyone, and I don’t know why... maybe she was trying to protect herself from being too hurt or something. She tends to close up when she's been hurt."

I agreed with this, although a part of me couldn't help but think that she was trying to protect my reputation. But at the same time, I was adamant that I had done nothing wrong. However, given the circumstances, I was willing to listen to her guidance.

"Are you currently trying to make amends?" she asked. "I apologize if this comes out as rude, but I can't help but offer my guidance this time around. It doesn't have to be accepted."

I smiled at this.

"Your guidance is always welcome, Madelyn," I said.

However, she didn't say anything more, and I soon understood why.

"Somehow I haven't quite been able to believe what happened," she said. "I was certain that it was because of the distance between you two when you went to college."

"She's wrong," I said. "I didn't cheat on her. However, somehow she obtained a video that convinced her otherwise, so here we are."

At first, she was surprised to hear this, but belief soon came into her eyes. She didn't even realize she was nodding, and when I once again took in the wires and tubes connected to her, I felt sorry that this was the current topic of discussion given her condition. So, I apologized and tried to shift the conversation.

However, she waved my concern away.

"The breakup wasn't easy for her," she said. "I saw it affect her so deeply for many years. And back then, I tried to contact you, but I wasn't able to. Plus, her father grew ill, and well, life happened to all of us."

"I just want to mediate if I can because I know how strict she can be. The problem, though, is that I have no idea what can be done, so if you have any specific requests, then let me know."

I considered her words and then looked at her.

"Do you believe me?" I asked. "When I say I didn't do it?"

She watched me and then smiled.

"Because she's my daughter, I don't want to completely dismiss her conviction, so the only response I can give for that is that it is difficult for me to believe that you did that. However, she's not crazy, and this is another reason why I wanted to see you. Perhaps there was something that truly caused her to believe this. It was a video that she saw, and that is more reliable and believable than anything else. I don't know if there is still anything left between you two, but if there is, then please go the extra mile to figure out what this is if you can. I'm certain that the moment things are cleared up, you will be able to see a path forward."

I nodded, understanding the purpose of her admonition, and then we moved on to other issues such as my work. A few minutes later, we heard a knock on the door, and the subject of our discussion appeared.

"Can I come in now?" she asked, not at all pleased that she had been asked to leave. Her mom was amused, while I, on the other hand, just watched her. Her mother's words came to mind, and it made me truly wonder if there was something else at play with whatever she saw.

Had someone tampered with the video in order to hurt our relationship? This didn't make any sense because we were just high school students. Who the hell would care about our relationship? If the same situation were at play now, then I would understand, but back then, it didn't make any sense. Except-