Beneath

Chapter Fourteen:

6 months later...

"Mom, you need to move a little more to the righ-"

"Can you see me now?" Mom giggled at the joke as her face flip-flopped between backgrounds; beach, space, forest and back to space.

"Mo-mom, just choose one, okay? I don't have a ton of time to chat."

"You called us, remember?" Dad said, his face swimming eerily into view through a myriad of stars and planets and I sighed, eyes flicking to the wall clock and back again.

"That was twenty minutes ago! Okay, look, I just wanted to check in with you guy-"

"Is that a suit of armor behind your head?" Dad asked, squinting as he leaned closer to the camera and I automatically shifted, propping my head in my hands to block their view of the very large, very ancient metal man standing guard.

"What? Pssh, no, that's...uh...a new poster I bought recently. Cool, right? So lifelike. Anyway, I know you haven't heard from me in a bit, and I'm sorry, but everything is fine here, honestly. So, you can stop the hundred texts and calls per day, because I only have so much cell da-"

"Richard, look!" Mom said, laughing again as her head bobbed through the dark sky. "Can you set this thing to music?"

"I don't know why you'd want to," I mumbled as Hades' form materialized in the doorway. "Right, so, back to the check-in. I don't have great reception here, so if I don't answer for a couple of days, please don't send a neighbor to my place again, okay? Plus, I'm not there a lot right now, so all it'll do is worry you more."

"You should consider switching Internet providers, honey," dad said as mom continued to bob and weave her way through the cosmos. "If you'd like, I can give you the contact info for a buddy of mine who works-"

"That's okay," I interrupted, watching as a slow grin split Hades' face.

"If you've got a new boyfriend, sweetie, you should've just told us," mom said. "We would've understood, and left you alone."

I massaged my brow, keenly aware of Hades watching me. "I don't have time for a boyfriend right now, mom. My neighbors are nosy and noisy, so I've been doing some writing at a friend's place, that's all."

"A boy friend, or a girl friend?" Mom asked as I fought the urge to groan aloud. She was like a dog to a freaking bone.

"It doesn't matter, mom, but if it makes you feel better, it's my friend...Gabriel."

"The guy from the barbeque? The one with the sick wife?"

Sick...right... "That's the one."

"Oh, sweetie, maybe you shouldn't be bothering him, since he's already got a lot on his plate and all."

"Trust me, he's fine. I'm alive, happy, and in one piece, and I promise I'll try to check in more with you."

"Maybe next time, just try a phone call, okay? You know your mom and I aren't so great with new technology. It took us a solid hour to figure out how to set up this Vroom chat."

"It's Zoom, dad. Zoom. And anyway, I don't know when I'll see you in person, so this is the next best thing."

Hades held up a thick roster, gaze sliding to the clock and back.

"Hey, guys, I've got to get going, but I'll call you again on Saturday, k? Love you."

"Love you too, honey, Don't be a stranger."