When the rains may come (Science Fiction)

60. The moment of truth

Marie woke up in a room she'd never seen before. The bed which she was lying in felt soft as clouds and the sheets pulled up to her neck were pleasantly warm. Her head was heavy and her eyes ached from the exposure to light. Her tongue was stuck to the ceiling of her mouth and it was almost painful to unstick it. She groaned at the sensation.

There was a thudding of footsteps. Clint and Zack's faces appeared in her vision, their features lined with concern. "Mom?"

"Marie?"

"Are you okay?"

"...I heard you all screaming on the call..."

"...you threw up in the car..."

"...I was so scared..."

"We were all worried–"

Even in her lightheaded state, Marie couldn't help but chuckle at their bumbling. She blinked a few more times before her vision became clearer. She saw the worried faces of her husband and son slowly relaxing with relief. She smiled. "You two are so alike."

#

Zack and Clint filled her in on the details of everything that had happened since she'd driven the car into a fire hydrant. Marie had a mild concussion and was bleeding from her forehead. They told her it was Eli Hodges' personal bodyguard who'd come to their rescue while the steel heads had been on their trail. It had all been a fortunate coincidence that Hodges had been discharged not too long before Marie had called Clint that morning. So Clint had taken the best option he had and called Hodges to make the steel heads turn back and leave Marie and the rest alone.

Marie scoffed. "So you really just pulled out the ace and called Hodges himself?" she chuckled. "You guys really got that chummy?"

Clint just smiled sheepishly.

Marie reached out and took his hand. "It was the smartest thing to do." She planted the softest kiss on his knuckles making him blush deeply.

"It was smart! If mom hadn't banged the car so badly and passed out, it would've been really fun to see that man in suit and sunglasses scolding the steel heads," Zack said, almost ecstatic.

Marie cleared her throat and pinched Zack on his neck. "Let's not forget how it all began, honey. The reason we got chased around cuz you came in yelling and screaming what we had been doing." She pinched him harder.

The boy winced and cried out, "Owww! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It was my mistake, please let go."

Marie actually relented, her face softening. "Not really," she said, looking down into her half-empty glass of water. "It wasn't all your mistake, sweetie. I was the one who took you for granted all along, who kept you in fear of everything without asking you how you felt. I was the one who kept punishing you for wanting to be yourself." She leaned back against the headboard and gazed out the window. The sunlight was getting dimmer. "We spent ten years of our life living in a hellhole, running from monsters and humans alike, forever in fear of some bomb blowing up everything in our sleep. You lost your childhood to that hell. When we finally had a chance to give you a normal life, we didn't even realize we were sacrificing your identity, your voice for its sake. It's good to have a normal, peaceful life. But what's more important is to..." she trailed off before turning to Zack. She touched his face with a gentle hand. "What's important is to be there for the people you care about. To make them feel safe, to make them feel seen and heard and cared for. I-I'm sorry, son...I wasn't able to do any of that...I...just want another chance...to become a better mother to you..."

Clint remained quiet and waited for Zack's response. The boy seemed at a loss for words. He probably hadn't been expecting his mother to unpack such a heavy confession out of the blue. But he also felt proud of Marie for finally bringing it up.