Breathe, mother fucker.
After a deep inhale, I walked to the door, squeezed the handle tight, and cracked it open.
“Mother.”
She stood there wearing that aristocratic mask of hers, looking prim and sleek as ever. With her head tilted up slightly, Martha kept her lips pressed together in a thin line - a picture perfect representation of the haughty, upper-crusted elite world she loved so much.
Martha Maxwell - indifference in human form.
And she taught it so very well.
So thoroughly, in fact, that being her son hardened me into a warrior long before I faced the frozen chop and sleep deprivation of Hell Week. I had an edge no other possessed, a literal lifetime of PSYOPs behind me before I ever stepped foot on those angry shores. Most don’t want to ring that bell and have to live with that failure in their own minds.
For me, a fate far worse, having to listen to her say I told you so.
I glared back at her, my jaw shifting and clenching as a halo of heat smoldered around my face, swirling from the neck up. Even though I’d seen just about the worst humanity offered, somehow this one hundred and twenty-three pound woman still rattled my fucking cage.
Goddamn it.
Martha cleared her throat demurely. “Well? Are you going to invite me in or am I going to stand out here like some vagrant?”
That was a typical greeting, the kind I’d learned to expect from her. Not even reunions on the heels of a year-long absence ever cracked that icy veneer. Air burned my nostrils as I breathed out in silence. Turning my back on her, I left the door open and walked away, heading toward the kitchen without a word.
“It’s lovely to see you too,” she said, closing the door behind her.
I didn’t bother responding but refilled my coffee cup. Stay fucking calm. All I had to do was bide my time. The sound of her thin heels click-clacking across the marble flooring echoed in my ears as she approached.
“You haven’t been answering the emails I send, avoiding my calls.”
“I was on vacation.” With my back to her, I hammered a healthy swig. “You’re supposed to relax. Maybe you should try it sometime.”
My words didn’t even register. I knew why she’d come, and Martha wasn’t the small-talking, feel-good type.
“I see you’re still planning on going through with this foolishness.”
“It’s not foolishness,” I snarled, pressing my palms flat on the kitchen counter before looking at her over my shoulder. “It’s about helping people get back to living normal lives. There’s more to do in this world than sit on mountains of money.”
She started to scoff, but I stormed right for her, edging past her with a grunt and a final warning.
“This discussion is over.”
10
Nothing’s Clicking (Taylor)
I don’t think it would have been possible to have worse luck on a day when I needed it less.
Enrollment day had arrived, and I thought I had everything planned to perfection. I’d moved into the apartment without a hitch and lined up the job - a part-time gig at a nearby day care center.
The hours were flexible, my coworkers were kind and considerate, and the kids, I mean, I couldn’t have been happier. So, against my better judgment, I took what I thought would be a slight risk and went in early and work on the first day of enrollment. You know, first impressions being what they are and everything, I wanted to make the best one possible.
Anyway, that turned out to be my first mistake.
The second one was even costlier.
I needed my freaking laptop to sign up for classes, but of course, I left it at the apartment. I’d even tried jumping on my phone during a quick break but it had been roaming all morning and drained the battery. That might not have been the end of the world if the other assistant hadn’t called in sick but she did, which meant I had to work through my lunch break before all the kiddos went down for their afternoon naps.
So by the time I got off work, I had to speed across town and hope I could salvage something decent. Once I got home, I raced inside, grabbed my laptop, and logged in to the student portal. Over the next thirty minutes my fingers flew, and with only one elective left to fill, I exhaled a relieved breath and sunk into the couch cushions. Honestly, I felt lucky to get what I could, but choosing my last class proved elusive. I struggled to find anything interesting as I clicked and scrolled my way into a carpal-tunnel inducing trance.
“Crap.” I twisted my lips as I click, click, clicked. Meanwhile, the clock continued to tick, tick, tick as the ever-dwindling choices whizzed by. “This is ridiculous, just pick something already.”
I’d just come across a mildly intriguing possibility when my phone rang. Distractions were just about the last thing I needed, but once I picked it up and saw Chrissy’s name, I changed my mind, deciding that a quick chat might help clear my head.
“Hey!” I exclaimed while I hovered my mouse over the checkbox for the elective. “How was Mexico?”
“Um,” she muttered softly. “It was interesting.”
I blinked and looked up, moving my eyes away from the glare of the monitor.
That didn’t sound good, especially for a honeymoon.
“Interesting? Like how?”
“Well, I didn’t get to do much.” She paused and cleared her throat. “I, um, I was in bed for most of it.”
“What happened? Did you get sick?”
“Eh, something like that.”
“Huh?” I didn’t understand and her caginess had me frowning.
“One sec. Sorry,” she said before a scratchy, muffled noise echoed in my ear. “No, it’s in the bathroom. Yes. Thank you.” She came back on the line. “Sorry, Brad’s home today.”
“No problem. So, what’s going on with you? Are you still sick?”
“I—I’m not sick.” She paused, gently clearing her throat. “Not anymore. I mean, I should’ve taken the test earlier.”
“Test?” No sooner did the question leave my lips than its meaning dawned on me. “Oh my God, are you serious right now?!”
“Yep, I…”
I gasped. “Congratulations! That’s incredible!”
While the news had me thrilled, hearing it sent an unexpected jolt through me. I felt the finger I’d kept hovered over the mouse press down, giving it a firm click.
“Thanks.” She didn’t sound super thrilled.
But all of a sudden, my attention was elsewhere. Oh shit. My eyes widened as I looked at the screen.
What did I just do?
The next thing I knew, the browser refreshed, and a screen appeared notifying me I’d completed my enrollment.
Wait, what?
“Uh.” I tried refocusing on her. “What’s wrong? I mean, this is good news right? I thought you guys wanted kids.”
I looked at the screen again. My eyes darted back and forth until I realized what I’d done. I bit my lip. Maybe I could drop the class or something if I hated it.
Damn it.
“Yeah, I mean, of course it is. I had a good idea I was before the wedding but with everything going on, you know, all the chaos and stuff, I put it off. So, within a few days it was pretty obvious I hadn’t caught anything. Anyway, I took a test, and it came back positive so, yay!”