Chapter 70: Shared Nightmare

She was waiting for me in the kitchen and I knew instantly by the look on her face this encounter would not end well for either of us.

Rather than let her have the first word guaranteed to send us both spiraling down into a battle, its inevitable end soaked in tears and raw from screaming, I dove in with a well placed and sincere, "I'm sorry, Mom."

Talk about instant deflation. It was like the words themselves had magic in them. Wow. Good to know for later. Because there would always be a later.

Mom's face crumpled and instead of turning me into a toad she rushed forward and hugged me so hard I knew she was only angry because I scared the crap out of her.

She wasn't alone in that department.

When she leaned back, the stern face returned but it didn't reach her eyes so I knew I was safe.

"Tell me," she said.

For the second time that week I dumped on her. It was developing into a terrible habit. Might be nice to go a whole seven days without some kind of disaster. Too much to ask,