Chapter Twenty-One — “The New Normal”
516 Words
Monday morning hit like a hammer.
The sunlight leaking through the bedroom window felt too bright, too sharp.
Leia woke gasping.
Every muscle ached.
Her throat was raw from coughing.
When she sat up, the room spun.
Owen was already dressed.
Buttoning his shirt in the doorway like he had one foot out the goddamn door already.
---
"You okay?" he asked.
Not concern.
Just a formality.
Leia nodded, though her vision blurred at the edges.
"Yeah," she rasped, waving him off. "Go. I'll be fine."
Owen stared at her for a long second.
Then shrugged.
"Text if you die," he said lightly, grabbing his keys.
Leia managed a laugh — or maybe a cough that sounded close enough.
The door slammed behind him.
The house swallowed the sound.
---
By noon, Leia couldn't stand how quiet it was.
She called Chloe.
The phone barely rang once before her daughter picked up.
"Hey, Ma! Everything okay?"
Leia smiled weakly against the pillow.
"Just lonely," she croaked. "Could use some company."
"I’m on my way!" Chloe chirped.
No hesitation.
Leia closed her eyes, smiling faintly.
---
Chloe showed up forty minutes later, blasting through the front door like a hurricane in skinny jeans.
Leia was still curled up on the couch under three mismatched blankets, looking like death warmed over.
Chloe didn’t even flinch.
"Jesus, Ma," she said, dropping a bag of takeout on the coffee table. "You look like the Crypt Keeper’s less fortunate sister."
Leia laughed so hard she started coughing.
The air reeked faintly of wet wood and antiseptic soap, a smell Chloe would later realize clung to hospitals, not homes.
Chloe plopped down on the opposite end of the couch, unwrapping a sandwich.
"You’re lucky I'm here," she said around a mouthful of turkey. "Otherwise the neighbors were about ten minutes away from calling a wellness check."
Leia wiped her mouth with a tissue, still chuckling weakly.
"Thanks, sweetheart."
---
Chloe launched straight into her latest drama like nothing was wrong.
"You’re never gonna believe who I met at work," she said, grinning wickedly.
Leia raised a shaky eyebrow.
Chloe leaned in like she was sharing state secrets.
"This guy, right? New marketing guy. Tall. Fine as hell. Dimples so deep you could lose a car in them."
Leia snorted.
Chloe kept going, animated as hell.
"So first he asks me if I know where the coffee filters are — like, b***h, do I look like a tour guide? — and then he bumps into me later near the copier. And you know what this man says?"
Leia coughed into her blanket, shaking her head.
Chloe put a hand over her heart dramatically.
He said — and I quote — 'Sorry, I guess I'm just drawn to you.'"
Leia burst out laughing.
"Right? RIGHT? Mom, it was like a Hallmark movie and a porno had a baby."
Leia wiped tears from her eyes.
"I love you," she rasped.
Chloe winked.
"I know. And so does Mr. Dimples, apparently."
Leia leaned back into the cushions, letting Chloe’s voice wash over her like a blanket.
- Writer
