Page 54 of Cyber
He had been that close with Cyber. And I was the reason he was dead.
Monster was probably just another person who hated my guts.
I shouldn’t have phoned him.
My child.
My life.
My problems.
It was just another weakness on my part that I had. And I couldn't be weak anymore. I had to start actually living. That's what Cyber would have wanted. It was what he had died for. The first step in doing that was standing on my own two feet, supporting my growing family by myself and not taking the money that Monster, or whoever, was putting into my account every month.
Pulling my phone from my bag, I used my fingerprint to log in to my online banking. There was even more money in there than there had been the day before.
An extra payment because I was pregnant? Like Monster had assumed that's why I had called him.
With a few quick clicks, I reversed the transactions. I didn't want their money.
Hell, I didn't even know what I wanted.
I hadn't even managed to close the app when the money appeared again. A frown creased my face. It was almost like whoever was sending it had been expecting me to send it back. I tried again and this time it didn't even go through at all. They had blocked me.
Frowning harder, I swallowed down my pride. Fine, if they wanted me to keep the money then I would, but that didn't mean I had to spend it.
A loud shrill ring made me jump. Glancing down at the phone in my hand, I hit the accept call button automatically, angling my body away from the parents standing at the gate waiting for their kids to finish school for the day.
“Hello? I sounded a little uncertain.
“Hello, Iris.”
I blinked rapidly in shock, and then a wave of relief washed over me. “Maggie?” It was so good to hear her voice after so long. “It’s so good to hear from you.” I had assumed that I would never hear from her again. And I missed her. She had become more than a friend in the time I had spent living in her house. She had become family. The only family I had apart from Violet.
“Sorry it's taken us a while to get back to you, there was a lot to arrange.”
“Arrange?” I lowered my voice. “I don't know what Monster told you but…”
She cut me off sharply. “I can't explain over the phone, Iris. We have you and Violet booked on a flight tonight. Go home and pack what you need. The tickets will be waiting at the airport for you.”
“Maggie, I can't just drop everything and come for a visit because I'm pregnant. Violet has school and…”
“You're not coming for a visit, Iris. This has taken long enough already.” She blew out a breath on the other end of the line and even with thousands of miles separating us, it was loud. “You and Violet are coming home, for good.”
28
cyber
It was almostlike we had never been away. Almost.
Maggie's house looked exactly the same as it had when we had left. The only difference was then it had been warm and now, as the cab pulled down her long drive, there was a steady sheet of rain falling from the low hanging grey clouds.
“Maggie!” Violet’s excited squeal echoed around the confines of the back of the cab as we finally pulled to a stop. Smiling, I wiped my hand over the glass. Maggie stood at the bottom of the wide steps that lead up to her porch. Her wide smile put any doubts about my welcome at ease. The old lady looked good. There was no cane in sight.
Violet squealed again, and throwing open the door, she launched herself into the rain. Her booted feet squelched as she sprinted around the car as fast as she could. I would have been mad if it wasn't so nice to see.
Slower, I made my way from the back, clutching our small overnight bag in my hand. The rain that plastered my hair to my head felt good after so many hours in the air, and then in the back of a cab. For a second I lifted my face, letting the cold drops fall on me.
By the time I had straightened, Violet was securely in Maggie's arms, and they were both grinning at me like a pair of Cheshire cats.
