Nightmares | ✓

Chapter 04

"She's trapped herself in the living room and refuses to leave until I find some little creature that's trying to get her. I have no clue what she's talking about, but I'm so sorry I didn't have her fully ready to leave as soon as you got home."

Talon shook his head. There was no reason for Mindy to stress herself.

"I've got this covered now. Thank you so much for staying late. I'll make sure the added hours are on your next paycheck." Talon set his things down on the floor. His body was tense, and not from the stress of working all day. Today had actually been a pretty good day for him, but something about his mother's episodes really drained him almost immediately.

"Mother, I'm home now. Where is the little creature hiding?" Talon felt like an idiot asking a grown woman a question like that. He turned the corner to the living room, running his fingers along the wall as added support. He never knew what he was going to see. Once he was around the corner, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief. His mother sat nicely in her chair, watching the tv. It was as if nothing had been bothering her a few moments ago. Talon was confused, but only for a moment.

"Oh, Talon, sweetie." She smiled, her graying curls wound tightly on top of her head. She wore a nicer top and was already in jeans and ready to head to her doctor's appointment. Her hair always confused Talon. As soon as she got sick, it changed, like the illness was draining the life from her hair, but her face and the rest of her body stayed the same. Throw a wig on her and you would never know she was over fifty.

"Momma, are you ready to go?" He questioned, hoping that if she remembered him, she would remember that it was an appointment day.

"Yes, sweetheart." She smiled, warming his insides up just slightly. He wasn't sure how many more of those smiles he was going to get, so, Talon tried to savor every ‌one of them.

"What critter were you chasing?" Talon couldn't help but wonder what this delusion was about.

"Oh, that? It's gone now. Some blonde creature wouldn't stop telling me I needed to be ready. But I didn't know what for." Talon understood. The blonde creature was Mindy.

Talon couldn't help but laugh at the thought of his mother being convinced that sweet little Mindy was this creature that was out to get her. A part of it all seemed like a funny movie to him, but seconds after that thought left his mind, he felt horrible again. It wasn't funny. His mother was really sick, and this was just another sign that she wasn't getting better. It was one of those things he would have to mention to her doctor at their appointment today.

"Are we going to the pokey man?" Sherry muttered, taking a seat in the car. She latched the seatbelt, holding her bag on her lap. Talon double-checked his own items, making sure he had her ID and other important documentation. He looked at the bag on his mother's lap, knowing that it was empty sent a pang of sadness through his chest. Letting out a sigh, he mentally thought about his to-do list and reminded himself that he needed to get her medical card copied so he could add one to every bag she would carry.

If she ever got lost, he wanted someone to be able to help get her home. God forbid she ever got lost.

Talon pulled out of the driveway, carefully watching for cars. He hated backing out of their driveway, tossing another thought onto his to-do list. It would be easier to see if he had trimmed the bushes. He pulled forward slightly, trying to get the car at a better angle. After a few more adjustments, they were on the road and heading towards the hospital.

"Why aren't we taking the bus today?" Sherry asked, watching out the window. She looked at everything with a kind of endearment that made it seem like there wasn't anything wrong in her life. Maybe she didn't realize there was any more. Maybe she was finally free from the knowledge of knowing she was sick?