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A/N make sure to check out my Festus Creed fanfic as well as my Lamina one <3
"YOUR HEAD'S IN THE CLOUDS TODAY." Cari snapped out of her daze, her boss staring back at her with a concerned frown. "What's wrong?"
Cari shook her head, "Nothing." She returned to the box of inventory she was loading the stand with, her mind buzzing.
Agnatha scoffed, "Please, I wasn't born yesterday, what's going on?"
Cari could use a confidant—her only companions were her boyfriend, his brother, and Mags—besides, Agnatha wasn't giving her much choice. "I just...there's something important I need to discuss with Treech later. I was going to do it last night but he worked late and was so tired..."
Agnatha perked up, laying her hand over Cari's. "You're pregnant." What?
"Wha—no, no, I'm not pregnant." Agnatha scowled, her shoulders slumped as she murmured something about her 'good for nothing son-in-law not even giving her grandbabies'. "It's just, well, Koa. The other day I was playing with him outside and...well, he called me 'Mama'." There was a sense of shame laced in the incident: Cari had felt happy for a fleeting moment. Here was a child who had lost his mother and she was joyous at the mislabel.
"The boy's mother, dead?"
Cari nodded, "Disappeared into the woods." Only presumed dead, but it was quite possible that they had finally located her body
Agnatha clicked her tongue, "It's a tough situation, I don't envy you." Her eyes rolled upward in thought. "Go home now."
Cari shook her head, "What? No, I have to restock and—"
Agnatha pried the box of supplies away from her hands, "You think I hired you because I need the help? I just like someone to talk to. Go home, figure it out."
Spouting out a nervous "Thanks" Cari packed up her bag, setting off to home.
Normally she'd get home after Mags, but with Agnatha's generosity it would be about twenty-minutes before the girl would return for the day. Cari was thankful, there was no need to stress Mags out with such a situation.
The house was quiet as Cari entered, any normal ruckus gone. Perhaps Koa is down for a nap. Not wanting to disturb him, Cari silently tugged off her shoes and dropped them by the door along with her bag, running her hand along the banister as she climbed the stairs to the bedrooms.
She frowned upon seeing the door to Koa's room open, the space itself unoccupied. If he wasn't down for a nap, why was it so quiet?
