He searches my face. My gaze stills on my forehead where some of my hair has come loose from my ponytail. Slowly, gently, he reaches up and brushes back those loose strands. When he’s done, his fingers stay on my face. They trail, feather light, over my cheek and down the column of my neck. Then h
Neil and I run to the baby’s room. Mia’s cries are loud through the monitor, but they are even louder in person. I rush to her crib side and peer down. She threw up on herself. There’s light green goopy vomit down the front of her onesie. Some has spilled over, down onto the crib sheet. “She got
“Yeah.” I hold Mia to me and we start walking. I follow Neil’s lead. I think he might lead me outside where a car would be waiting. Instead, he takes me down, down into an underground garage. Two dozen cars of various sizes and colors line the room. Some look like older models than others, but all
I smell it before I really think about why Mia is likely so upset. It’s thunder storming, Neil’s driving crazy, it’s late and she’s still up and outside. She has any number of reasons to be crying. But that smell. Yeah, that’s definitely poop. And it is pungent. Even in the dark car, lit only
“You have to wait.” She doesn’t look up. “I’m busy.” “I have a sick baby,” I say. I shuffle Mia to the other side, closer to the woman’s line of vision. “She needs to see a doctor.” “Everyone needs to see a doctor,” the woman says. “You have to wait until I’m ready for you to be seen.” Neil’s
The drive back to the Pyramid feels longer – likely, because Neil is driving less like a possessed man and more like a guy who values his own life, as well as the lives of others in his car. The storm has even eased up some. The rain is more like a drizzle now. There’s still lightning but it’s dis
“Neil –” “No, Chloe. It can’t happen, and that’s that.” He huffs out a breath. It sounds frustrated. “I have a girlfriend.” I’m wondering who he’s trying to convince, me or him. But mentioning Angela does give me pause. Not because I’m worried about her at all. She’s given me the green light t
Back in the Pyramid, we quietly return Mia to her room. She’s fast asleep in my arms. She passed out somewhere in the car, close to the hospital, and has been resting peacefully since. Since we left, someone has come in and cleaned and sterilized Mia’s room. There is a fresh cover in her crib, and