My Wrath is a Mirror | ONC 2022

Three

When Janine and Mom arrive in the morning, I already have a pot of coffee made and eggs frying in a pan.

"I can walk, Janine. My feet aren't broken too," Mom fusses. I turn to see Janine let go of Mom's arm and lift her hands in a placating manner. "Kamille! Get over here and give your momma a hug. I've missed my baby!"

Sliding the eggs onto a plate, I wipe my hands on a towel before joining the two women in the breakfast nook adjacent to the kitchen. Mom's right arm is in a sling, but she reaches out with her left to wrap around me as I lean into her side. When she dislocated her shoulder after slipping on ice in the driveway and landing the wrong way, we only expected a quick trip to the emergency room, but the pain Mom was in should have been the first indicator something else was wrong. X-rays revealed a fracture and so a plate and two screws later, she's home.

"Geez Mom, if I didn't know you just spent a week in the hospital, I'd have thought you were working out or something. You've got some muscles in that arm!"

She snickers. "That's my weak arm honey. You should have seen my biceps when you girls were babies. One or both of you were on each a hip twenty-four-seven."

The thought of my twin and I as pudgy little babies, snuggled up to Mom's sides makes me smile softly. It's easier thinking of Kamryn like that. To picture her chubby baby cheeks and not her broken, mangled body hanging out of the Jeep.

"Coffee?" I ask, swallowing hard as I turn and grab two mugs out of the cupboard. Filling each, I peek at Mom from the corner of my eye as she and Janine settle in at the table. She's lost weight since I saw her last Christmas. Was it already almost a whole year ago that she drove down to stay with me for a week? The pounds Mom shed are probably from her hospital stay, but it still worries me. I can see the years in the lines on her face, no matter how spry her personality is. It's clearer than ever how much my loved ones have aged in the last year alone. Even Janine has gray roots. Bringing over the plate of eggs, I set it down in front of the both of them, along with two forks. "Hope you like breakfast for dinner," I say to Janine before turning to fetch the coffee. When I approach next, they're whispering about something I can't quite hear. The only word I catch is Kamryn.

"Did you know they're demolishing Kamryn's favorite park?" The words burst from my lips before I can stop them, and I nearly spill the coffee as I place a mug on the table in front of Mom before taking a tentative sip out of my own to mask my rekindled ire.

Mom and Janine share a look that tells me all I need to know.

"No one has visited the place in years. The town sees it as a dump, a liability." Janine's voice is soft, but the pity in her eyes is what sets me off.

"It's not a dump! It was our park—Kamryn's—and what if other people still wanted to go there? Why doesn't someone just clean the place up a bit? Surely the town can afford that." The ceramic between my fingers is hot, but I absorb the burn. "They can't just demolish it."

Mom examines me then, a contemplative look on her face. "Why don't you buy it?"

I gawk. "With what money? I just got fired from a job I hadn't even started yet!" Mom and Janine go silent and wide-eyed. Crap. I forgot I hadn't told them about the phone call I got yesterday. "It's fine, I'll figure something out. But how do you expect me to buy a freaking park?"

Mom takes her time replying by slowly taking a sip of her coffee. I resist the urge to tap my foot on the tile floors. "Why don't you ask how much they'd sell the property for? Perhaps the money we're getting from selling the house will cover it."

My eyes bug out of my head. "You've got to be kidding me. Mom, first of all, that's your money. You're the one selling. Secondly, the sale isn't even closed yet. Three—"

"Actually, we're closing on it tomorrow."

I blink. Calm, Calm, Calm. "I'm not buying a park with your money."

She only shrugs, lifting the mug to her lips once more. "Just a thought."

That thought leaves my heart thumping madly for the next hour. Or maybe it's the caffeine.

When Janine departs, claiming it's past her bedtime even though the sun has just risen, Mom asks me what happened with the job at Green Queen Nutrition. I settle in the chair Janine had occupied and tell her about the phone call I got yesterday.

"I'm so sorry honey. At least we have good internet connection here—I told the provider that you'd be working from home so he gave us the best rate. A whole gegbit!" She flashes me a wide, goofy smile.

"Gigabyte, mom." I choke out a laugh. "Fast internet does me no good without a job, though."

Mom leans in conspiratorially, as if sharing a secret. "But think of all the movies we can download now!"

I roll my eyes, but am unable to stop the grin pulling at my lips. It would be nice just to spend time with Mom, snuggling up with endless movies and popcorn. At least, until her shoulder is healed. Then it's back to the real world and job hunting and my empty apartment four hours away.

Throughout the day, I help Mom settle in, stacking her clothes neatly in the drawers and adding the finishing touches on her new apartment. When I bring the empty boxes to the dumpster, I nearly slip and bust my ass. The rain last night must have frozen in a few spots, because there's a wide patch of ice where the sidewalk runs right under a large decorative juniper tree. I'm more careful on my way back, and tell Mom to pay extra attention if she ventures out in the cold. The last thing we need is for her to slip and break her other shoulder.

There are everyday tasks Mom won't be able to do alone without hurting herself, so the plan was to stay with her only for the next few weeks. Now that I'm unemployed, she tries to talk me into staying for the rest of the three months she'll take to heal.

"I don't know, Mom," I say, trying to ease into a rejection. I can't flat out say I don't want to stay in this loathsome town, but it's next to impossible to do so without giving her false hope.

"We can look for an apartment here, or if you want to, I can help you look at rent houses." She smiles at me encouragingly, as if willing me to stay with her determined gaze alone. My text tone sounds, saving me from having to answer. It's Loren, sending me the party horn emoji, and three margarita emojis.

"Look at the time," I say cheekily. "I have to get ready for dinner with Loren." I blow Mom a kiss and head for the small bathroom attached to Mom's bedroom. After swiping on some mascara and doing my best attempt at a messy bun, I shrug on a coat and head for the door.

"Let me know what you want from Los Portales and I'll bring you a to-go plate, okay?" Mom gives me a thumbs up without looking away from her tablet. A glance tells me she's looking at houses for rent in the area.

Internally screaming, I grab my keys and head out the front door.

It's already dark by the time I pull onto the highway. After staying inside all day, the freedom of driving down the mountain into town is much needed. Something about the winding roads are not nauseating as they once were, and I make a mental note to take more road trips after Mom heals fully. Just as I'm turning the radio to a different station, a lifted truck with his brights on pulls out behind me. For a moment, I can't see anything as I'm blinded by the lights in my mirrors.

"Asshole," I murmur under my breath, slowing down in hopes of him going around me. I go to flip the tab on my rearview mirror, but my tires hit a patch of ice and the steering wheel jerks in my hands. Before I know what's happening, my SUV goes into a tailspin.

I'm choking on panic as I careen off the road, my tires crunching over gravel and ice. I try to turn the steering wheel, holding it in a deathgrip to stay upright in my seat when I jerk to the side. The vehicle scrapes a tree, glass shattering all over me, and then I'm tipping, tipping, tipping over.

I can't scream. I can't even breathe as the world flips upside down and the blood rushes to my head. My SUV is barely rocking, but my head is still whirling, and I'm still choking before my vision goes spinning into the dark.