Mama

Falling Into Place

“We have a situation.” Broden approaches me with Mattie in his arms once Jade and I enter the house.

“Yeah? Well, so do I.” I shrug his hand off my shoulder and stalk into my bedroom. I hear the only slightly subtle whispers behind me.

“Oh my gosh.” Jade’s horrified gasp is what gets my attention.

Something’s wrong with my Mattie.

I push Jade out of the way to look at the little blond girl, my own blond hair making a curtain of secrecy around her head, like a halo.

A halo for the angel with ghost-like paleness and blue lips.

“What’s wrong with her? Is she-is she sick?”

“I don’t know.” I can tell that my normally composed brother is seriously panicking. He’s never had to take care of another life like this. When our parents first left in the care of Broden, I was 15, just 2 years ago. I can feed myself and be fine by myself; it’s just a few legal matters that keeps me in his care.

“What about Sean?”

“He’s like that too; he’s up on my bed, with like, a million blankets on top of him.” Now that I take a better look at Matilda, she’s bundled up in all the excess baby blankets that were lying around the house since Broden and I grew up.

She shivers, letting me know that she’s still alive.

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

“Mama.” She croaks, “Where’s papa?”

We might as well have broken up, I want to tell her.

But right then, Jay bursts through the door.

“Let me talk to Sean.” He commands, not even glancing towards me or anyone but Broden.

“He’s not doing so hot.” Jade informs him, knowing I don’t have the strength to talk to him yet. Or ever, really.

“I need to talk to him.”

“My room.”

He marches up straight-away. After a few moments, we hear a shouting match going on, but it seems pretty much one-sided with Jay doing the shouting and Sean trying to retaliate with his weak state.

Jay descends down the stairs and grabs my hand, taking me into the kitchen where we spent hours of laughing just a couple of weeks ago.

“We’re the parents.”

“What?” what the hell is he talking about?

“Mattie and Sean. We’re their parents. They came back in time, Brett.”

I faint.

The hair, the eyes, the personality, the habits, the name-calling.

It all fits together.

They’re my kids.

I feel like the air is being pushed into my lungs all at once, once I wake up on the couch surrounded by people.

“How’d you figure it out?” I demand of Jay. Not even sitting up from the couch yet.

“It wasn’t very hard. At least one of us has to be intelligent.” He retorts, but without the usual playfulness he has in his tone.

“Hey.” Broden pushes himself in front of Jay, guarding me. “Whatever’s going on between you two let it go. Mattie and Sean are in danger.”

“He’s right. Without the potential of you two getting together in the future, Mattie and Sean are gonna fade away completely. It’s already starting!”

“Is that what you and Sean were arguing about up there?” I ask, scared of what the answer might be.

“Yeah. But I don’t want to get together with you just because we have to and not because there are feeling behind the relationship.”

I know the pain of his words is evident on my face because right after he says this, regret comes over him.

“What is going on between you two?” and my oblivious brother is, as always, left out of the loop.

“Later.” Jade whispers to him.

“You really dislike me that much?” I swallow back tears.

Jay tries to cover up his mistake.

But I don’t want his apology. Instead, I turn my back on him and face the back of the couch.

A shuffle is heard behind me, knowing Jade, she made Broden leave with her so Jay and I can have some ‘heart-to-heart’ talk, as she likes to call it.

“Look, I didn’t mean that.”

“Really?”

“I swear.”

I don’t know how he does, affecting me with just a few words, but those words get me to turn around and face him again. Stupid Jay and his charm.

“You know what’s strikes me weird about this?” Jay ponders to himself.

“What is it, Mr. Genius?”

He smiles in a way I haven’t seen him smile in a long time, but then it’s masked by another troubled look, “Even if Mattie and Sean weren’t here, we would’ve had rough patches and they still would’ve existed. How come something’s happening now, that’s altering the time line?”

“Unless Sierra,” I wince at the name, “isn’t actually supposed to be your girlfriend.” I suggest, slightly hopeful, but also being logical.

“You’re just being jealous, now.”

“Kinda,” I admit, “But think about it. Maybe it is her.”

“Maybe… should I break up with her?”

Yes!

“I can see that smile, Brett. Don’t try to hide it.” And he still manages to make me blush.

“I do like you. I was just too stupid to not notice it.” I mutter.

“What’s that?” he teases.

“And you still manage to annoy the heck out of me!” I throw my hands up in the air in that exasperated way I so often do.

“You know. I think we could start over.” he smiles sweetly.

“I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”

“Me too.” He inches towards me and sits on the edge of the couch in the way I’ve gotten so accustomed to before, except it was on my bed (not in that way, perverts) and I had Mattie in my arms.

“Cool.” I close the barriers around my heart, the way I’ve done millions of times before, trying to get the awkwardness out of the way.

“Aww, my girlfriend’s so cute.”

“G-girlfriend?” I stutter.

“Yeah, why? You don’t like it?” he smirks and pouts at the same time, making it him look killer adorable, darn it.

“Of course I do!” I squeak. “B-but, I thought we were gonna start over? From the very beginning?” I peer up at him, no doubt, curiously.

“Oh, what the heck.” He swoops down to kiss me.

Wow.