Incubus

Chapter 27

We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle 

that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future 

~John F. Kennedy

"Hello, Corin." I couldn't move. I never thought that I would see them again. Not now. Not here, with Hayden behind me. The personalities in this room were fickle and temperamental; one wrong word could set any of us off. It felt as if the room were filled with gas and Hayden was the match waiting to set it off. 

The shock of them finding me delayed any response out of me. I felt Hayden at my back and wondered if he would stay quiet. I doubted it. 

He put his hand on my back protectively and stood up tall, trying to be intimidating.

My mother smiled at me, but I didn't return the smile. It would be fake and forced, just like the one she had on her face right now. I knew what she was trying to do already, and she wouldn't win.

When I finally found my voice, I answered in a wavering tone. "Hello, mom." I looked over at the man on her right. "Dad," I nodded in his direction. "Never thought I'd see you two in a room together again."

My mom tried to laugh it off, but my father looked less than amused. He quickly looked at Hayden behind me before fixing his cold eyes on me. "You got a bodyguard? What is he supposed to be?"

I didn't answer, unsure if it was a wise idea to go down that route. It would be best to keep Hayden out of it; this confrontation wasn't his battle but mine. As I opened my mouth to reply to my father, Hayden butted in to ask, "What does it matter to you?"

My dad shook his head and muttered something akin to, "Sorry I asked." 

My mother's smile didn't fade as she looked between the two of us before settling her gaze on me, head tilting to the side. "May we sit down?"

"Sure." But I didn't make a move to sit. I clutched Hayden's hand tightly, and he squeezed back in reassurance. I hadn't told him about my parents or my past, but I knew he could see how we were related. I bore a strong resemblance to my mother; it was almost impossible to miss: the same long dark brown hair, the piercing blue eyes, and facial structure. I didn't get much from my dad, for which I was thankful. He had no redeemable qualities. Looking at him, he seemed like more of a deadbeat than he had the last time I saw him. 

"Sweetie, can you please join us?" 

My mother's voice pierced my train of thought. Sweetie. How could she call me that? I was about to retort, when Hayden moved his hand to my shoulder and said, "She'd love to sit."

I glared at him from the corner of my eye as he guided me to sit down across from the two people I wished were dead to me. 

Without further hesitation, my mother immediately plunged into the topic of discussion ."I never thought I'd find you. To be honest, I never thought I'd find your dad," she joked as she looked at my father. "But here we all are!" 

My father grunted as he looked around the apartment, mouth most likely watering for a glass of gin. 

"Mom, what do you want?" I asked wearily. I didn't want to deal with them at the moment; I only wanted them out of my apartment.

She looked at me for a moment before her smile faded and she quietly said, "You've grown up so much. I can't believe how different you look from the last time I saw you! What do you think, Reed?" she asked my father. He wasn't paying attention as he was in the middle of lighting a joint. She elbowed him, and he looked up, not too pleased with almost dropping his cigarette.