I normally didn’t snap the way I did back there. I wasn’t the aggressive type, and avoided fights at all costs. Despite that, I did know how to fight, however limited my lessons had been before dad died. He insisted that I knew how to hold my own, to protect myself, and more importantly, my family. A strong man is a feared man, I could hear him say over and over again, and no one would dare fuck with a feared man. Truth be told, I felt like he trained me so I could take his place someday soon, as if he knew his time was up.

Dad had always been private about certain aspects of his life, and oftentimes Mom was too. After a while, I got used to their closet lives, and assumed it was for the best. No harm, no foul. I wasn’t offended any. Everyone had their secrets, maybe a haunting past they didn’t want to tell. I even teased around a couple times and said that they were secret spies for the government, the way Dad traveled around. Until things turned bad for him, and quick.

He started acting like someone was out to get him. One time, I was eavesdropping outside of my parent’s bedroom and heard him say that he started hearing these voices whispering in his ears at night, telling him to do terrible stuff. I was younger at the time, and didn’t want to be bothered with the complications of it. I guess deep down, I was afraid, afraid of having the picture perfect image I had of my family tainted.

Nothing was the same after that. Mom started getting sick intermittently. She couldn’t work at the office anymore, and Dad was getting more and more anxious and paranoid. Hence, why he insisted I learned to fight, to cook, to fix cars, and even appliances around the house. He was prepping me for survival, a world where I might be alone. He had never admitted it, but really, I knew something bad was about to happen…

Losing Dad was the toughest part of my life. It was also when the dominoes of my shitty curse started to tumble. I was the man of the house now, and for years, my life was a complex trial of balancing work, school, and taking care of Mom.

But I didn’t complain. I’d do anything for mom. She was worth every effort.

I walked into the hospital, the staff knowing me all too well. Cecil, the pretty blond nurse behind the register, took one good look at the shape I was in and rushed over to help. A quick clean up on the small cut in my head followed by stitches and ice pack for my swelling, and a scan of my insides. No broken bones. That was good news at least. Even though I felt like I had been run over by a bullet train. I thanked the staff and limped over to my mother’s ward, my hands empty without any flowers. When I reached her room in the ICU ward, the happy smile on her face tanked immediately.

“Mi hijo, what happened?” my mother cried, staring at the bandage wrap around my head.

“It’s nothing, mom. Sorry I couldn’t bring you your roses.”

“It was those bullies again, wasn’t it?” she said, her dark brown eyes giving me a smart look. “I told you to beat them down. They’ll leave you alone once you rough them up!”

I chuckled, closing the door behind me before I kissed her forehead and took a seat at her bedside. “You know, that’s exactly the kind of advice that got me banged up like this.”

“No way! You mean you actually fought back?”

“Three against one. I would have been able to take them on if they didn’t play so damn dirty.”

She sucked her teeth. “Pathetic cockheads.”

I snorted. My mother was a foul-mouthed, free-spirited, down to earth, sassy Latina. Her accent was strong, so whenever she cursed in English, it sounded twice as harsh. She put a smile on my face, but the thought of her condition made me sulk again. She’d been in the ICU ward for too long, and doctors still had no idea what was wrong with her. Stuck in a ventilation machine, she couldn’t move around much. Her organs were shutting down gradually, and they’d told me that the outlook seemed grim.

My mother, beautiful inside and out—auburn hair, sun-kissed skin, gentle soulful eyes, and a spunky yet caring persona that was absolutely magnetic. Those doctors could say whatever they wanted to me. I was hopeful. I had to have faith, it was the only thing I had left to hold onto. Giving up on my mother was out of the question. I’d already lost everyone else. There was no way I was going to lose her, too…

“How’s school?”

“Expensive,” I retorted in an irritated sigh. “It’s bad enough that we had to sell our old place to afford it. Every year, they tack on a bunch of new expenses, bump up the prices, and add a few miscellaneous fees into the mix.”

“I know, I know. These money grubbers don’t know when to quit. But Carthage University is an Ivy League school. You could land any job nationwide with that kind of rep on your resume.”

“Or, we could get you into another hospital, like say, Phoenix Med? The doctors there are like miracle workers.”

“I don’t want to transfer there, mi hijo.”

“And you still haven’t given me a good reason why.”

“I just don’t like it…”

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“Mom, I need a better reason than that. I know it’s on the pricey end, but—”

“I like it here. The staff is nice, the space is clean, and they have my soaps on the boob tube. Besides, we need to keep you in Carthage. I want you to graduate and snag a nice cozy well-paying job. You’re too smart for that print store.”

“You know I don’t like to complain, mom, but we are barely making it as it is. Things are tight. But if I just drop out of—”

“No—” she refused sternly. “I won’t allow my only son to lose out on a great education for my sake! You’re staying at that school, end of story. I’m betting all of my chips on you, Isaac,” she said, her eyes getting glassy, “don’t you dare let me down. You got that?”

“Sure mom.” I frowned. There was something she wasn’t telling me, more of those secrets she loved to keep. Only this time I was bothered by it. I needed a better reason why she refused to go to that hospital. The statistics from Phoenix were at a record high diagnostic rate, and high recovery and rehabilitation rates, too. If I prodded her further, she’d get upset, and I didn’t want to make things worse for her.

So I dropped the subject altogether. We’d made sacrifices for her dreams of me graduating from that school; sold our nice home and moved into a small apartment in the city, cut back on home custodial care for her, and stopped our yearly vacations all together. All for the sake of a Bachelor’s degree from that overinflated school. My opinions didn’t matter though, because I wanted to see her happy. After everything she’d been through… I just wanted to see my mother happy…

“Sasha says hi,” I said, slicing the silence between us. I could tell that my mother was staring at me without picking my head up. She was worried about me worrying about her. I couldn’t help it. It seemed like every time I stepped into this place, bad news was around the corner. But this time, my mind was preoccupied with something else.

“Sweetheart, you seem more down than usual.”

“I’m fine. Really. Just thinking about how I’m going to shift my schedule around.”

“For?”

“My stream.”

“Oh? You got an outing? Finally hanging out with some new friends?”

“I’ve got a date,” I said bluntly.

She flashed me an excited smile. “A date?! With who?”

“Sasha, the flower girl.”

She shrieked, her loud cry of happiness making me jump. My mom reached over and snatched me up with energy I didn’t know she had, smothering me in her large chest. “Oh, my boy is finally getting back out there into the dating scene! I’m going to have me a grandchild!”

“M-mo-mom! You’re choking me!” I strained.

“And it’s about time, too! What are you, twenty? One girlfriend? If you could even call Jessica a girlfriend! More like a fling! Unlike Jessica, she shows plenty of promise! Such a sweet and lovely girl! Gentle nurturer type! She’d make an excellent wife for you!”

“Can’t breathe!” I begged, struggling to break free from her theatrics.

“Oh, sorry mi hijo! I’m just so happy for you!” She released me, my mother still giddy with joy. “You better wear that snappy dress shirt I gave you for your 19th birthday. And the cologne from Sicily you never wear. Oh, and no video game references. I’m still trying to figure out what a KDR means.”

I smirked.

“You can use your father’s silver Corvette in the garage. I’m sure she’d be more than impressed with your whipped.”

I snickered. “You mean, whip?”

“Whatever hip new lingo is movin’ around these days.” She narrowed her eyes on me curiously. “But you don’t seem too happy about your date, Isaac. What’s wrong?”

“I guess I’m afraid of messing up.”

Her eyes softened on me. “You know that everything that’s been happening in our lives isn’t your fault, right? This shit-show, this stroke of bad luck… it has nothing to do with you.”

“I told you I feel like I’m cursed. I just don’t want to get Sasha hurt is all.”

“She’ll be fine.”

“You don’t know that, mom. Look at what’s happening to you…”

She placed her hand over mine on the side of the bed, gazing at me tenderly. “You need not worry about this ol’ hag. I’m content. Whatever comes my way, I’m ready for it. I’ve made my peace with it. I had a loving Irish stallion of a husband, close caring friends, a nice upscale house, a top paying job, and most importantly, you. If I go now, I could say that I had a wonderful life. And that my only son made it a hundred times better. You are my heart, Isaac, you know that, right?”

“Of course.”

“I want you to remember that I love you so much. More than anything in this world...”

“I love you too, mom.” I smiled sweetly.

“What I’d regret is missing you grow up to be an even better man. With your charm and your kind soul, you could achieve anything. Sky’s the limit. You have your father’s beautiful soul, not to mention, his nice thick hair. You adopted his caring personality, and his headstrong persona. Regus was your idol, and if he were alive right now, he would have been so very proud of you, Isaac.”

“Come on Mom, let’s not talk about it all ending. I’ve already had a shitty day. Don’t want to make it worse.”

“Don’t let those bullies get to you, hun.”

“Well, there was one good thing that happened. Some random guy came in for the save. Jason and his asshole friends jumped right off of me when they saw him. Real tough looking guy, too. Gave me this.” I pulled out the coin, my mom’s face instantly growing pale. “He said it was a lucky coin, and gave me the impression that it could grant wishes.”

“Why did he give you that, Isaac?” her jagged voice trembled.

“No idea. Maybe he took pity on—” She snatched the coin from my hand and tossed it right across the room.

I turned back at her confused, my lips hanging ajar as her entire mood turned sour. “Mom?”

“Don’t take anything anyone in Ether City gives you, mi hijo!” she whispered under her trying breath. “Promise me…”

“All right. I promise.”

“PROMISE ME!”

I choked. “Mom, you have my word.”

The rage in her eyes simmered down, my mother finally dropping her tense shoulders. With a sigh, she tried to recompose herself, then said, “Now, you go to your date and have a good time.”

“But—”

“We’ll talk tomorrow morning,” she said with a forced smile. “You can tell me all about it over the phone. Okay?”