Catch and Release

Chapter 2

Chapter 2Zoe’s eyes fluttered open to the sound of a familiar tune. Her alarm clock was set to play the local radio station which was playing some tune from Panic! At the Disco, or maybe it was Fall Out Boy. They sound pretty similar when you’re still waking up. She pressed the stop button and pushed herself out of bed, pulled the covers straight, and headed out to the hallway, knocking on her son’s door as she passed it. She knew the knock wouldn’t wake him. The first knock never did. She could swear Lex acted more like a sixteen-year-old than a six-year-old some-times.

She padded her way to the kitchen, filled the kettle, and placed it on the stove. She held the dial to ignite the propane, and a few clicks later, the water was rapidly heating. She pulled her travel mug out of the sink, gave it a quick rinse, and heaped instant coffee into it. The coffee tasted like old feet, but it had caffeine. She would love to get an espresso machine, or at the very least some good instant coffee, but on her budget, the foot tasting sludge was all she could afford. The kettle whistled, pulling Zoe out of her daydream. She turned the stove-top off and poured the hot liquid into her mug. She held the lousy coffee to her lips and inhaled, the steam filling her lungs and the caffeinated scent bracing her thoughts.

Lex hadn’t stirred. No surprises there. Zoe headed back down the hallway and entered her son’s messy room. The covers on his bed were bundled up to the point that she couldn’t even tell whether he was there or not.

“Come on, Lex, time to get up.”

Zoe waited a moment with no response beyond a breathing sound. She sighed and shook her head. Lex had been a pain to deal with ever since her husband was killed by a drunk driver two years earlier. Lex was barely old enough to remember his father, but his absence had given her son a rebellious streak that Zoe hadn’t been able to resolve yet. Zoe walked through the room, careful to avoid the rogue pieces of Lego randomly scattered over the floor. Having made it safely to the bed, she said, “Come on, Lex, move ya butt.” Still no reply. She pressed her hand to the blanket, hoping a gentle shake would rouse the sleeping boy, but was a little confused by what she felt, or more precisely, what she didn’t feel. Her hand compressed the comforter all the way through to the mattress. She pulled the comforter back, expecting that Lex had simply moved during his sleep. The thin comforter floated down to the ground as Zoe felt a certain sense of annoyance. The bed was empty. Where the hell was her son this time? She knelt down to check under the bed. When she made it to the ground, she heard the door behind her close.

“Aha, found you!” she said. Turning her head, she felt the blood drain from her face and pins and needles settle into her cheekbones as she saw the dark figure standing between her and the door.

“Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my house?”