𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒! [𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐲]

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐱

𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍

Margo's vision was so blurry, she could barely see her own reflection in the mirror. She wasn't crying, and for the first time in awhile, she didn't feel sick, it was just that her whole body felt empty. She was exhausted. She was tired of constantly having to deal with one problem after the next, always wondering when she would get to live a normal life. She didn't want this. She didn't want any of it. She wanted Max back. She wanted Robin to stop worrying about her. She wanted Steve and Jonathan and Nancy and herself to all be able to start adulthood like the rest of their peers. But she could hear her mother and Conor talking faintly from the kitchen, and the only thing she knew for a fact was that the future she wanted wasn't what was in store. 

"Surgery?" Jaqueline said shrilly.

Margo could picture Conor staring at his feet to hide the way his eye twitched when he was lying. She knew tea was probably boiling, and that he would forget to take it off the burner before the kettle started whistling. He mumbled something she couldn't hear.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" said Jaqueline, her voice loud enough to echo through the entire house. Margo liked that the place wasn't so quiet anymore. "I'm her mother, Conor, I should've been there to help!" 

Another low mumble from Conor, unintelligible to Margo. 

"Yes-" said Jaqueline, "I know I should've been there sooner anyway- when are you going to stop throwing that back in my face- don't look at me like that!" 

Margo blinked three times. She could see herself clearly now, looking far too thin and far too pale. She couldn't eat without throwing up, so she'd given up on it altogether. She tried to tune out her parents' arguing. Although she would never tell either of them, it brought her back to her childhood, when fighting was just dull noise in the background of most of her memories. She wished Jonathan was there. He understood what that was like. 

The door opened a minute later and Margo fixed her expression into indifference as Jackie swept inside, her eyes wide. "Why didn't you tell me it was this bad?" she said. It sounded like a genuine question rather than an accusation. "Margs, honey, I could've taken you to the doctor, I could've- you know Conor doesn't have to do everything-" 

"Mom, I know," Margo said evenly. "I just didn't want to make a big deal out of it. It's a minor stomach problem, really. The doctor said it was an easy fix-" 

"Conor said you need surgery-" 

"Well, yeah, but... it's an easy surgery." 

Jaqueline stepped back and eyed her daughter wearily, then shook her head and pulled her into a tight hug. "I love you, honey. I just want you to get better, we all do. Can I go-" 

"No," Margo said all too quickly. In truth, she wished her mom could be there for what Conor cynically called 'the burning.' But she knew it would mean telling Jackie the truth, and that wasn't something anyone wanted. "No, Mom, the hospital said only one person could go with me for... overcrowding purposes. You know, because of the earthquake, the hospitals are flooded right now." 

Jaqueline let go of her daughter and blinked tears out of her eyes. "I understand that you want your dad to be there, but-" 

"Please, Mom," said Margo, forcing the uncomfortable lump from her throat. "Please, just- this is already stressful enough. Look, Conor's gonna take me to the surgery, but there's a whole recovery period after that, I'll need help doing stuff-" 

"I'll be here," said Jackie, her tone almost too forceful. "I'll be here the whole time." 

Margo nodded, and against her better judgement, she believed her. She was beginning to allow herself to believe that her mother would stick around for the long run. Maybe at some point, they could even be a normal family. That is, if she survived the next twenty-four hours. If she came home. If her mother got the chance to take care of her at all. "I love you, Mom," she said before her thoughts could run away with her. "I'll see you when we get back."