3
<
I wasn’t going to drink it. Eighteen years of
devotion curdled into bitter resentment. How
could I just comply? They were still lying to
My
me, pretending to remember my birthday. I was going to tear down their facade.
“Thanks,” I said, placing the glass firmly on the table. “I’m not thirsty.
“Drink it anyway. It’s from Ethan,” Mark’s voice sharpened with urgency. He picked up the glass and offered it to me again. “Drink it. Don’t upset your son.” Ethan nodded
vigorously.
I wanted to laugh. A harsh, bitter laugh. “There’s no rush. It won’t interfere with your
^
reunion with Amelia, will it? Is she waiting?”
I’d suspected Amelia was back. Why else
would Mark be working late at the lab, tirelessly perfecting the elixir?
Mark’s face paled. His grip on the glass tightened. He knew I was on to them. Ethan, his youthful facade crumbling, looked equally guilty.
“Don’t worry,” I sneered. “I just wondered if this was all part of a plan. You, Ethan, and Amelia.” The elixir had been in development for years. Had I been a target all along?
“Fine,” Mark said, regaining his composure. “Since you know, there’s no point hiding it.
L
We’ve been considering this for seven years.
You’re impossible, a shrew!‘
With M
“”
“I wouldn’t abandon my wife, and Ethan
wouldn’t sever ties with his mother. So the
elixir was the best solution. To make you…
normal.”
Normal? So, loving them was abnormal?
“Hilarious,” I said, giving them a sarcastic
thumbs–up.
Mark, unaccustomed to my defiance,
snapped. “What’s so funny? Just drink it!” He
jabbed a finger at the glass.
<
Ethan chimed in, “Drink it! Then I’ll still be
your son. Otherwise, we’re done!”
Perfect.
NY W W W W X
THE
“Fine,” I said, picking up the glass. “I’ll drink it.” All my questions, all my love, had evaporated. It was time. Father and son watched, eyes bright with anticipation. I raised the glass and drained it in one long swallow. Let it tear my sensitive soul to shreds. I was done with them.
