Page 43 of Fight Or Flight

“Well, I’m here for a sleepover. We’re going to have a pyjama party! Mama brought popcorn, candy, a movie, my pillow, my sleeping bag, my toothbrush, my toothpaste, my dino, my pajamas, my . . .”

He carried on like that, listing the entire contents of his backpack for nearly a minute before Chelsea found her voice and interrupted him.

“Ben, can you take these things inside, please?”

“Okay, Mama.” He grabbed his pillow and backpack and skipped past Natalie and inside.

Natalie turned to Chelsea. “Mama?”

“Yes,” Chelsea said, tipping her chin up.

“You have a son?”

“Obviously.”

“How old is he?”

“Four.”

“So you had him when you were . . .” Natalie tried to make her brain work but couldn’t even manage basic subtraction.

“Eighteen.”

“What about his dad?”

“Not really in the picture.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m telling you now.”

“I mean before.”

The worry on Chelsea’s face broke. Her brows dropped into a frown; her mouth went flat. “I didn’t really think you’d care.”

Natalie’s face crumpled, then her gaze dropped from her sister’s eyes. When she’d left, Chelsea was young and had a loving mother in her life. Natalie had never worried about her at all.

“I didn’t want to bring him here, but my mom is sick and couldn’t take him for the night, and my friend who usually helps out is working.”

Natalie let that bit of information sink in, then closed her eyes and dropped her head.

“You never even called me,” Chelsea said, her voice cracking. “Never added me on social media. You changed your name so I couldn’t even find you.”

“Chelsea, I . . . I didn’t realize . . .”

“That I’d be upset that my sister disappeared? I figured that would be obvious.”

Natalie’s shoulders slumped as she let out a long exhale. “Fuck.”

Chelsea’s gaze snapped inside, then back to Natalie. “Language! He repeats everything.”

“He’s not even here.”

Chelsea leaned in close, let her face move a fraction into a little smile. “He’s everywhere.” She turned on her heel and walked down the stairs toward her car.

Panic flooded Natalie’s brain. “Where are you going?”

Chelsea laughed. “I’m not leaving. I’m just grabbing stuff from the car. I got us coffee and Timbits.”

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