Chapter 402 Just strange
Mia’s POV
The tears stopped.
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I guessed they just ran out. My body had used up whatever chemical made crying possible and now I was just sitting there. Empty.
My face felt tight. Hot. My eyes burned.
Kyle was still beside me on the stairs.
I could hear him breathing. That ragged sound his lungs made now. Like something inside was working too hard.
The house was too quiet.
I stood up. My legs felt wrong. Like they belonged to someone else.
“I need to go home,” I said.
My voice came out flat. Dead.
“Okay.”
Kyle started to stand.
He made it upright eventually.
“The kids are probably awake,” I said. “My mom’s there but-”
“Can I come with you?”
The question hung between us.
“Fine,” I said.
We made it outside. The morning was brighter now. Full daylight. The kind that made everything look harsh and overexposed.
Kyle’s car was parked at the curb. A black Mercedes.
I held out my hand. “Keys.”
“What?”
“Give me your keys.”
“Mia, I can drive.”
“Give me your keys.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. You’re dying. Give me the keys.”
He pulled the keys from his pocket. Dropped them into my palm.
The metal was warm.
I unlocked the car. Climbed into the driver’s seat.
Kyle got in the passenger side. Slowly.
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I started the engine. The car purred. Quiet. Smooth. Nothing like my old Honda that rattled and groaned every time I turned the
key.
I pulled away from the curb.
The street was empty except for a woman walking her dog. A golden retriever. It looked happy. Tail wagging. Tongue out.
Gas also needed a walk.
I turned left. Toward my apartinent. Toward home.
Kyle hadn’t said anything since getting in the car. Just sat there. Looking out the window.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
The question felt stupid the moment it left my mouth.
He turned to look at me. His mouth did something. Not quite a smile.
“This is the first time,” he said.
“First time what?”
“Me in the passenger seat. You driving.”
I glanced at him. His face was soft. That expression he got when he was remembering something.
“Really?”
“Really.”
He was right.
“How does it feel?” I asked.
“Strange.”
“Good strange or bad strange?”
“Just strange.”
We drove in silence for a few blocks.
Red light. I stopped. Waited.
A taxi passed. Then a bus. Then nothing.
The light turned green.
I accelerated. Smooth. Easy. This car drove like a dream compared to mine.
We turned onto my street. I could see my building ahead. Red brick. Fire escape zigzagging down the front.
I parked on the street. Parallel parking was harder in this car. Bigger. Longer. But I managed.
We walked to the entrance together. Not touching. Just moving in the same direction.
The elevator ride up was silent. Kyle’s breathing was loud in the small space. That ragged sound.
I unlocked the apartment door.
The smell hit me first. Coffee. Toast. My mom’s perfume.
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And underneath it. That particular scent of home. The one you don’t notice until you’ve been away.
A crash came from the kitchen. Then Alexander’s voice. High. Excited.
“Mama’s home!”
Footsteps. Running.
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Alexander appeared first. His pajamas were on backwards. One sock on. The other foot bare. His hair stuck up in seventeen different directions.
He stopped when he saw Kyle.
His eyes went wide.
“Kyle!”
He launched himself forward. Arms out. Moving too fast.
Kyle caught him. Barely. His legs buckled but he stayed upright.
Alexander wrapped himself around Kyle’s waist. His face pressed into Kyle’s sweater.
“You came! Did Mama bring you? Did you escape from the hospital again?”
Kyle’s hand came up. Smoothed Alexander’s wild hair. “Something like that.”
Ethan appeared in the kitchen doorway. Moving slower. More careful.
He looked at Kyle. At me. At Alexander wrapped around Kyle like a monkey.
“Morning,” Ethan said.
“Morning, buddy.”
Madison was behind Ethan. Her elephant clutched to her chest. She was still in her pajamas too. The blue ones with stars.
She didn’t run forward. Just stood there. Watching.
Kyle met her eyes over Alexander’s head. “Hi, Madison.”
“Hi.”
Gas appeared last. He bounded toward Kyle. Tail wagging. Whole body wiggling.
He jumped up. Paws on Kyle’s legs.
“Gas, down,” I said automatically.
The dog ignored me. He was too busy sniffing Kyle. Making sure it was really him.
My mother came out of the kitchen. She had a coffee cup in one hand. Her reading glasses pushed up on top of her head.
She looked at Kyle. At me. At the scene we were making in the hallway.
“Coffee?” she asked.
God bless her. No questions. No drama. Just coffee.
“Please,” I said.
“Kyle?”
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“Yes. Thank you.”
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Alexander was still attached to Kyle’s waist. “Are you staying for breakfast? Grandma made French toast. The good kind with
cinnamon.”
“I don’t know, buddy. Your mom might-
“Please please please? Just for breakfast? Then you can go back to the hospital and do medicine things?”
Kyle looked at me.
I shrugged. Too tired to care anymore.
“Okay,” Kyle said. “Just for breakfast.”
Alexander whooped. He finally let go of Kyle. Grabbed his hand instead. “Come see my room! I want to show you the spaceship Mama helped me build!”
“Alexander, let him sit down first,” I said.
“But-”
“Breakfast first. Then room tour.”
Alexander’s face fell. But he nodded. “Okay. But you promise? After breakfast?”
“After breakfast,” Kyle confirmed.
We moved toward the kitchen. My mother had already set another place at the table. Coffee poured. A plate ready.
The French toast did smell good. The cinnamon kind. With powdered sugar.
Alexander and Ethan climbed into their chairs. Madison sat between them. Careful. Quiet.
Kyle sat. His hand shook when he reached for the coffee cup.
I pretended not to notice.
My mother did notice. I could see it in the tightness around her eyes. But she said nothing. Just put more French toast on his
plate.
“Eat,” she said. Not a suggestion. A command.
Kyle picked up his fork.
The kitchen filled with the sounds of breakfast. Chewing. Swallowing. Alexander talking around his food about something that happened in a dream.
Gas sat by Kyle’s chair. His head on Kyle’s knee.
Kyle’s hand dropped down. Scratched behind Gas’s ears.
The dog’s tail thumped against the floor.
It was almost normal.
Almost.
Except for the way Kyle’s hands shook. The way his face had gone pale again. The way I could hear his breathing even across the
table.
Chapter 402 Just strange
Except for the fact that he was dying and we were all pretending he wasn’t.
After breakfast Alexander jumped up. “Okay! Now can we show Kyle our room?”
“And then,” Ethan added, “can we take Gas for a walk? He didn’t go out yet this morning.”
I’d forgotten. Again.
“Yes,” I said. “Let Kyle see your room. Then walk the dog.”
“Will you come?” Alexander asked Kyle.
“To walk the dog?”
“Yeah!‘
Kyle’s throat worked. “If your mom says it’s okay.”
Three pairs of eyes turned to me.
“Fine,” I said. “One walk. Then Kyle needs to go.”
Alexander grabbed Kyle’s hand. “Come on! Our room first!”
They disappeared down the hallway. Alexander chattering. Ethan following. Madison trailing behind.
My mother started clearing plates.
“I’m going to lie down,” I said.
She looked at me. Really looked. Her eyes moving over my face.
“You should,” she said. “You look terrible.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“I mean it. Go sleep. I’ll handle everything else.”
I didn’t argue. Just walked to my bedroom. Closed the door.
The bed looked so good. So soft.
I fell onto it face–first. Didn’t even take off my shoes.
Sleep came fast. Heavy. Black.
Voices woke me.
