Chapter 125

Ariadne hasn't taken a bus since she was eleven. She nervously clutches the transportation card she'd gotten from the convenience store across the street.

She remembers once, a long time ago, when their family car had broken down, her Omega mother had to take the bus into town.

Ariadne went along so she could help carry things. It turned out to be a wonderful day. They'd gotten lost and ended up at the park. They had ice cream on the benches and talked about the future.

And Ariadne had told her mother that she wanted to open a restaurant.

"F*ck," she hisses under her breath. She's losing it.

She doesn't know why her heart's about to burst, rapidly pounding in her chest. She's getting paranoid. What if someone recognizes her? What if someone realizes she doesn't belong with the rest of these ordinary, functioning people?

"Ma'am, are you getting on?"

The Omega looks up, startled to see a bus pulled up in front of her, the driver looking down at her curiously. Ariadne scrambles up the st