The Oddities Of Grand Marquis - Book 1: Galactic Seed 🪼✔

Sixth

"Mom?"

I felt a warm hand on my cheek, and I tried to get my eyes to focus on the face above me. She was looking at me with compassion and worry and I knew for a fact that this was my mother; my real mother.

"Oh, Maxxy..." she said softly, smiling kindly at me as she rubbed my cheek. "We were so scared you'd never come home!"

"Mom..." I said, tears starting to sting my eyes. "I missed you!"

She laughed thickly, her own tears trying to keep at bay as she softly rubbed my cheek with her hand. I finally just let everything go and started crying like a little baby. It was my mom! My real mom!

"Oh, baby..." she said softly, pulling me into a small hug and rubbing the back of my head. "It's alright, honey, it's okay..."

"I thought I'd never see you again and they tricked me so many times and... and..."

"Shhh, it's alright. You're safe now..."

And I knew it. I knew for a fact of 100% that I was safe in my mother's arms. Those aliens tried to get me again, they'd have to go through my mom, and she would knock the shit out of all of them for touching me. I knew that and I counted on that.

"Where's Dad?" I asked, finally getting my bearings to talk.

"He went down to the cafeteria to get some coffee. He'll be back in a minute. We were just having a, um... talk with the doctor and staff."

"I'm really sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to leave. Honest."

"Then... where did you go?" She pulled back from me and looked at me with her dark brown eyes. "We looked everywhere for you, but it was like you vanished without a trace. They kept saying you were a runaway, but I knew that that wasn't the case."

I fidgeted in the bed, wondering if I should tell her. The last time this conversation came up, I discovered that my parents weren't real, and I had been led into the most intricate switcheroo ever. This time though... this time, I knew this was real. I had to tell her...

"If I tell you, you'll think I'm crazy."

"You know you can tell me anything."

I played with the sheet for a second and then breathed in deeply.

"I got... I got abducted by aliens." I closed my eyes and flinched, ready for her to yell at me about how dumb it was, but I didn't hear anything. I opened and eye and just found her staring at me with a solemn expression. "Mom?"

"I see..."

"You don't believe me."

"No, it... it makes more sense."

"What do you mean?"

Mom's eyes flicked over to the right and I looked at where she was looking. I had forgotten about my extra traveler and suddenly felt super self-conscious. I looked away and even though I was already covered, I tried to move the sheets around my distended belly.

"Oh..." I said.

"Maxxy, what is that?"

"I'm... I'm not sure."

"The doctors here aren't either but... they think it's a child."

"It wouldn't surprise me." I said softly, tears pricking my eyes again.

I realized that the worst thing to happen now wouldn't be if this was all fake again, but to see my real mother look at me with disgust and despise me. To see her think that I was some sort of freak...