The Hacker

"Can I trust him?" (6)

Please don't let him be home. Please don't let him be home. Brynne chanted these words over and over in her mind as they drove towards Micah's house. Luckily, it was just a few minutes out of the city, so traffic wasn't as horrible as she had anticipated.

Her mother tried to make small talk along the way and Brynne tried her best to answer and be polite despite her stomach tying in knots. Micah meant a lot to her and if her mother— for any reason— decided not to like him, then without a doubt she would choose Micah.

The thought terrified her that she was willing to choose this man over her own mother... but she was being honest with herself. Society would expect her to choose family over everything but what if strangers treated you better than your own family?

Do you still choose them over everything?

Pulling up in the driveway, she saw her mother peek out of the window and take a look at the house. That only made the knots in her belly tighten even more. Did she like the house?

Would she think that Brynne did a good job of designing it?

She desperately wanted to ask but decided not to. It was better not to.

Looking around, Brynne didn't see Micah's car and nearly broke into a grin. Thank God, she thought.

"It looks like he's not home yet. I'll just grab a few things real quick," she said to her mother while walking up to the front door. "You can wait in the front room if you like,"

"That sounds good,"

After opening up and taking their shoes off, Brynne was just about to go upstairs to quickly grab a dress and heels when she saw Micah coming down from said stairs. She stopped dead in her tracks and mentally cursed. He wasn't supposed to be home.

"Hey, baby," he greeted her before pulling her in for a hug.

It felt so good to be hugged by him that she couldn't help but give in and let him comfort her. She had a lot on her mind, after all.

"What are you doing home? I didn't see your car outside,"

"It's in the shop so I took an Uber home," he smiled down at her sweet face.

"An Uber?" she couldn't help but grin, "never thought I'd see the day," she teased.

"Yeah, well I try to keep up with modern times," he teased right back.

"Who do we have here?" She heard Lauren's voice behind her and the smile instantly fell from her face.

Pulling out of his embrace, Brynne turned to face her mother before introducing them. "I should have called... but Micah this is Lauren, my mother."

His eyes bulged out and he looked between the two before extending his hand towards her. "This is definitely a surprise... It's so good to meet you, Lauren."

"Likewise," she shook his hand with a smile on her face. "My daughter definitely got herself one handsome man,"

Chuckling, Micah withdrew his hand and snaked it around Brynne's waist; pulling her closer to him. "I'm the lucky one," he smiled down at her, "this is actually so crazy... it must be surreal to see your daughter after so many years,"

Lauren furrowed her brows for a second before completely outing Brynne. "Actually, she came to see me in Jamaica a few months ago,"

Brynne felt his hand loosen from around her. "A few months ago?"

"Yeah and we had lunch the other day,"

"Oh?" Micah turned his head to look at her and she closed her eyes before mentally cursing herself.