Free Foresight by EJ McBride

need to be able to lie. That's why I fucking hate knowing what everyone is thinking.'
    Clara stared back at him intently, absorbed by his story, the sudden silence appearing to snap her out of it. She leant forward and grabbed her glass, taking a gulp of the vodka lime & soda she was drinking.  
    'All I know', she said, 'is that I've put my trust in too many assholes who say all the right things but don't mean any of them. Call me stupid, but if I get given the option of finding out if someone is an asshole early on, or having to wait a few years to find out, I'd rather not be wasting my time.'
    'So what about you?', Robin asked, gesturing toward Clara.
    'What about me?'
    'I told you mine', Robin stated with an air of impatience at Clara's hesitation to share her life story with him.
    'Yeah you did', replied Clara. 'It's not as if I asked you to'
    The couple stared at one another for a moment, neither one flinching. Clara sighed, put her drink down on the table and folded her arms.  
    'OK, what part of my train-wreck life would you like to know about?'
    'I dunno', said Robin. 'I feel as though I know nothing about you. What about your Mom and Dad?'
    'What about them?', snapped Clara.
    'Jesus', sighed Robin. 'If this is the response I get I guess I'll...'
    'My Mom and Dad are dead', said Clara, interrupting Robin and halting his sentence dead in it's tracks. His expression changed subtly, anger fading and a look of sympathy taking it's place. 'I'm sorry', he said.
    'No I'm sorry', replied Clara. 'I mean, it's complicated. They're not dead, I don't think. But they're dead to me'
    Robin tutted, shaking his head as he took a sip from his drink.
    'You can disapprove of my choice of words all you like', said Clara. 'My Mom and Dad never understood me, they didn't know how to deal with someone as 'special' as little old me. My Mom hated me, and my Dad changed after my brother died'
    Robin raised his right eyebrow.  
    'As in actually died', said Clara, her voice becoming momentarily choked as she spoke of it. 'He was kidnapped and murdered when he was little. They sent the sick fucker who did it to jail, but families never really get over that'  
    Clara's eyes welled a little, her mind racing with the memories of her brother, the only fond memories of her childhood that she possessed.  
    'I guess I never really got over it either. I ran away when I was in my early teens. It was easier to just not be around my Mom and Dad. And you know what the best part of it is? They never came looking for me. Never even reported me as missing. Me leaving was the best thing that ever happened to them. Some kind of relief. So for me, there's no amount of lying my Mom or Dad could ever do to convince me that they ever loved me.'
    Robin opened his mouth, his lips forming around the unspoken sentence he was about to speak, when his phone beeped loudly. He glanced down and picked it up, flicking his thumb across the touchscreen to read the reminder that had flashed up, before leaning forward in his chair and looking above the railing they were sat next to, out across the casino. In the distance, a crowd had gathered as several people began taking their seats around a poker table. Robin jumped to his feet, dusting down his suit and fixing his collar.  
    'Come on', he said to Clara, reaching out his hand to take her's. 'This is us.'  
    Clara placed her hand in his as he gently puller her to her feet, her clutch bag in one hand and half finished drink in the other, the pair began walking over to the poker game.  
    'You ready?', Clara asked, quietly wiping a tear away from her eye.  
    'Absolutely', replied Robin. 'With your good looks and my talent, this should be a walk in the park.'
    'Sure thing bucko', said Clara. 'Why don't you go take a look around, let me get on with the real work?'

    Tony Jepsom had already taken his seat by the time the pair arrived at the table. They had read in an agency report that he was in his mid to late twenties,