Chapter 2

Downstairs, the smell of burnt toast and cheap coffee filled the air.

Brenda was at the kitchen table, a catalogue of ailments already prepared on her tongue.

"Ethan, darling, my head is splitting. And this cough, it just won't go away."

She coughed weakly, a dry, theatrical sound.

Chloe sat opposite her, scrolling on her phone, already looking bored. She was fourteen, easily swayed.

The mail lay on the counter. I saw the university letterhead. My heart hammered.

I picked it up.

"What's that, honey?" Brenda asked, her voice suddenly sharper.

"It's from State University," I said, my voice even.

I opened it. The words blurred for a second, then sharpened. Full scholarship. Room and board.

The exact same offer.

Brenda's eyes narrowed. "Oh, that. Well, isn't that nice. But you know, with my health..."

"I'm accepting it, Mom," I said, looking directly at her. "I'm going to State."

The air thickened. Chloe looked up from her phone, surprised.

Brenda's face crumpled. "But... but Ethan. You can't leave me. I'm not well. What about my doctor's appointments? Who will take care of me? Community college here is fine, if you must go to college."

Her voice started to rise, taking on that familiar, whining edge. "After all I've done for you, raised you single-handedly..."

"I'm going," I repeated, my voice firm. I wouldn't get drawn into her script.

Then came the performance.

Her hand flew to her chest. Her eyes rolled back. She gasped, a terrible, gurgling sound.

"My heart... I can't... breathe..."

She slumped sideways in her chair, one arm dangling dramatically.

Chloe shrieked, "Mom! Ethan, do something!"

In my first life, I'd panicked. I'd promised her anything to make her "better."

This time, I was calm.

I picked up the phone.

"I'm calling an ambulance," I said.

Brenda's eyes snapped open. Just a slit, but I saw the calculation there.

"No... no ambulance," she wheezed. "Just... help me to the couch."

"If you can't breathe and you think it's your heart, we need an ambulance," I said, dialing 911. "It's better to be safe."

I gave the dispatcher our address, described her "symptoms" calmly.

The moment I hung up, Brenda sat bolt upright.

Her face was a mask of fury. The "illness" had vanished.

"How dare you!" she shrieked, her voice no longer weak. "You want me dead, don't you? Calling an ambulance, embarrassing me! You ungrateful child!"

Chloe stared, mouth agape, between me and Brenda.

"They'll check you out," I said. "If you're sick, they'll help you. If you're not, then we'll know."

The wail of a siren approached in the distance.

Brenda's face was mottled with rage. "You'll regret this, Ethan! You think you're so smart, but you'll come crawling back! You need me!"

The paramedics were efficient, professional. They took her vitals. Listened to her heart, her lungs.

She tried to play the frail victim for them, but her earlier outburst had been too vigorous.

One of the paramedics gave me a knowing look. "She seems stable. Blood pressure is a little high, probably from the excitement. We can take her in for observation if she wants."

"No! I'm fine!" Brenda snapped, pushing away a blood pressure cuff. "My son overreacted."

She glared at me. "He's always been dramatic."

They left. The silence in the house was heavy.

Chloe looked confused. "Mom, were you faking?"

"Of course not!" Brenda snapped. "Ethan just upset me so much, it brought on an attack. He doesn't care about his mother's health. He just wants to abandon me."

She turned her venom on me. "You see what you do? You cause nothing but trouble and heartache."

I didn't argue. I just looked at her.

She knew I knew.

The game had changed.