White Space Season 1

me.”
    Before Cassidy could argue that she didn’t really feel like playing house servant, she saw the visible pain etching lines onto her mom’s face in misery.
    “Sure Mom.” Cassidy rose from the table, dumped the rest of her orange juice into the sink, then set the glass in the dishwasher and went to the bathroom, opening the medicine cabinet and scanning the four rows of the chest, seeing nothing.
    Cassidy called, “I don’t see anything, Ma!”
    Vivian yelled back, “They’re in the third drawer of the wicker cabinet.”
    Cassidy snarled.
    Fuck her.
    There was only one reason for Vivian to stuff her pills inside the wicker cabinet, and that was to keep them from Cassidy, like she couldn’t be trusted. Just like Cassidy imagined, the small bottle was wrapped inside a scarf, and pushed to the back of the drawer.
    Cassidy pulled the bottle from the drawer and looked at the label, shocked to see it was Ourocettes.
    Fucking A, why’d I pay for the shit when I could’a just scored some from Mom?
    Her Addict whispered:
    The bottle is full, Cassidy. Filled six months ago. Obviously, your mom doesn’t use them, or even need them. At least not that often. Not like you do. One at a time will take all of your pain away, Cassidy.
    Just.
    One.
    Pill.
    The Addict’s whisper was warm in her ear. So was the bottle in her hand.
    Her addict screamed:
    What are you waiting for, Cassidy? Don’t be stupid. Craig is an idiot. And dealing with him will get you busted. This bottle means you don’t have to.
    This bottle will make everything go away.
    Cassidy opened the bottle, hating herself, then spilled six pills into her palm and dropped them inside the front right pocket of her jeans. She tapped the bottle once more, dropping one more pill into her hand, which she brought to her mom with a tall glass of water.
    “Thanks Sweetie,” Vivian said, swallowing the pill. Done gulping, she turned to Cassidy and said, “I’d advise you not to think you’re the only one concerned about Emma. I’ve been looking after that girl one way or another since she was born, while you were off doing who knows what, who knows where,” she narrowed her eyes at Cassidy, “and with who knows who. I’ve been feeling so wrecked the last few days, I could barely move. And right now I barely have the strength to stand. I’m sorry I’ve not been able to help more, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care.”
    “Sorry, Mom,” Cassidy cut her mom mid-sentence, but her apology was severed by the doorbell.
    Vivian said, “That has to be good news, right?”
    Cassidy swallowed and shrugged, then ignored her chills and went to the door.
    Jon stood on the other side of the porch, awkwardly smiling. “Morning, Cass,” he said. “I just checked in with Brady, I’m sure you have, too, and there’s no news. I was wondering if you’d like some more help looking this morning.”
    She did, and was surprised by how happy she was to see Jon Conway standing on her mom’s porch, for the first time in 10 years, at least.
    “What in the hell is he doing here?” Vivian said, turning toward the door, her face soured as if she were sucking on a lemon.
    Cassidy looked at Jon apologetically, then turned to her mom. “He’s here to help us look for Emma.”
    “Hmph, I’ll bet,” Vivian growled, “Like he doesn’t know anything about it.”
    Cassidy was impressed, the way the smile flickered across Jon’s face, and yet he managed to hold it inside. “Give me a second,” she said, closing the door.
    Cassidy went to her room, grabbed a sweater and headed for the door. Halfway into the hallway, she turned back and emptied the pills from her pocket, dumped them into the bottle from Craig, then dropped one back into her pocket — just in case.
    Smart girl , her Addict said.
    Cassidy left her room, opened the front door, took Jon by the arm, then turned to her mom and said, “We’ll be back,” closing the door behind her.

    * * * *

CHAPTER 4 — Jon Conway

    Jon held a stack of full color glossy photos — Emma smiling in front of the monkey cage at the small zoo the Conways had sponsored and installed four years earlier. Jon found them online the night before, then had them printed, risking ridicule. It would have been typical for Cassidy to call him an asshole or a showoff or some other horrible name, simply because he had the audacity to use his money and resources to make their job easier. Fortunately, she didn’t. Instead, she smiled