Chapter 28: Mythical Girlfriend

JEFFREY

I pulled into the driveway a little slower than usual, the house coming into view like something out of an old photo, familiar, but a little too bright around the edges. The porch light was already on, casting a warm yellow glow across the front step.

Inside, the scent of lemongrass tea hit me before I even made it to the living room.

Mum was curled up on the couch, a novel in one hand and a porcelain mug in the other. She looked like she belonged on the cover of a lifestyle magazine, composed, radiant, the same way she always looked whenever I hadn’t been home in a while.

The moment she saw me, her face lit up like Christmas morning.

“Jeffrey,” she said, standing to greet me. “Kyla told me you’d be stopping by to pick something up for her.”

I leaned in and gave her a one-armed hug. “Yeah, just grabbing a package.”

She cupped my chin gently with one hand, the way she used to when I was little. Her eyes scanned my face like she was reading a symptom list.

“You look pale