Chapter 1
The alarm screamed at 6:00 AM, and I slapped it into silence before it could wake Julian.
I was too late.
“Mama, did you know that the average person hits the snooze button three times before actually getting up?” His voice drifted from the living room, already wide awake. “That’s 27 minutes of interrupted sleep, which is actually worse for your REM cycle than just getting up the first time.”
I dragged myself out of bed, my body protesting every movement. Five years in Portland, and I still wasn’t used to the early mornings.
“Jules, baby, it’s six in the morning. Can we save the sleep science lecture for after coffee?”
“But Mama, coffee disrupts your cortisol production if you drink it before 9:30 AM. I read a study-”
“I don’t care what the study says. Mama needs coffee or Mama becomes a monster.”
He giggled from behind the curtain that separated his sleeping area from the rest of our tiny living room. Our apartment was barely 600 square feet. One bedroom that I’d given to him until he turned five and insisted I take it back, a living room that doubled as his bedroom, and a kitchen so small I could touch both walls if I stretched.
But it was ours. Safe and far away from New York.
I pushed that thought away like I did every morning and headed for the coffee maker.
“Julian, let’s go! You’re going to be late!”
“I’m coming!” He emerged from behind the curtain, wearing his favorite dinosaur hoodie. The grey one with the T-Rex that he’d insisted on wearing at least three times a week for the past six months. His dark hair stuck up in every direction, and his grey eyes were bright with mischief.
I brushed Julian’s hair down. It immediately sprang back up and tried not to think about the fact that he was getting older. Five years old now, almost six.
“Mama, you’re doing the sad face again,” Julian said, tilting his head at me. He’d always been too perceptive.
“I’m not sad, baby. Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“About what to make for dinner,” I lied, smiling. “Now eat your cereal. We leave in ten minutes.”
~~~~~
The bus was crowded with the usual morning commuters. People heading downtown for office jobs they probably hated, students going to school with headphones in and textbooks open, a few tourists with maps and excited expressions.
Julian pressed his face against the window, narrating everything he saw like he always did.
“That’s a golden retriever, Mama. Did you know they were originally bred in Scotland for hunting? But now they’re the third most popular family dog in America because they’re so friendly. Although statistically, they have a high rate of cancer, which is sad.”
A woman sitting across from us smiled. “He’s very smart.”
“Thank you,” I said. You have no idea.
Smart didn’t even begin to cover it. Julian had taught himself to read at three. By four, he was reading my college textbooks. Now, at five, his kindergarten teacher had already suggested testing him for the gifted program.
“Mama, I’m almost six. Mason’s mom lets him walk by himself.”
“Mason is seven and lives two houses away. You’re five and we’re three blocks away.”
“But I know the route! I could draw you a map with all the optimal crossing points and-”
“Not happening, babe.”
He sighed dramatically but took my hand anyway. His small fingers wrapped around mine, warm and solid and real.
I dropped Julian off at school at 8:15 and I went to work.
~~~~~
GlobalTech Industries occupied a massive glass building in downtown Portland, all sleek lines and modern architecture and the faint smell of expensive coffee.
I’d been working here for two years. I started in retail on the ground floor, selling laptops and tablets to confused customers who couldn’t figure out the difference between 256GB and 512GB of storage.
It wasn’t glamorous, but it paid $52,000 a year with benefits. Enough to keep us fed and housed and safe.
I scanned my badge at the employee entrance and headed for the elevator, already mentally preparing for whatever chaos the day would bring.
The elevator was empty when I stepped in. I pressed the button for the ground floor retail space and leaned against the wall, scrolling through my phone.
The doors started to close.
Then a hand shot out, stopping them.
A man stepped in.
Tall. Expensive suit. Dark hair. And eyes that were…
Grey.
Just like Julian’s.
My stomach dropped.
He pressed a button for the upper floors without looking at me, his attention fixed on his phone.
I should’ve stayed quiet. Should’ve just ridden the elevator in silence like a normal person.
But I’ve never been good at silence.
“Crazy busy today, right?” I said, attempting small talk.
He didn’t look up. “Mm.”
Okay, rude, but maybe he’s just focused.
“I swear, retail during the week is somehow worse than weekends. You’d think people would have jobs, but nope- ”
“I’m not interested in conversation,” he said, his voice cold and flat.
I blinked. “Wow. Okay. Rude much?”
That got his attention. He finally looked up, and those grey eyes locked onto mine.
They were cold and somehow, strangely familiar in a way I couldn’t place.
“Was there something you needed?” he asked, dangerously calm.
And that’s when my day went from routine to catastrophically complicated.
